Canoo has decided to stop producing its electric cars at VDL Nedcar in Born. The cancellation of the production deal had been in the air for a while, but now CEO Tony Aquila confirms the news. The VDL Groep and Canoo will continue to work together, but the car factory will have to continue the search for a new client.
It was initially good news for VDL Nedcar: six months ago, the car factory was proud to announce that it would start building electric cars for the American start-up Canoo at the end of next year. At the beginning of this month, however, there were cracks in the deal and now Canoo is definitively abandoning production in Born in Limburg, which, according to the plan, should have lasted until at least 2028.
The reason that Canoo gives for this through CEO Tony Aquila is that the production of cars in the United States would entail fewer risks than in Europe. According to the CEO, the states of Arkansas and Oklahoma are investing a lot of money in high-quality technology, something that Canoo could benefit from. “We have decided not to continue with VDL Nedcar, but have come to the conclusion that we want to continue working together with the VDL Groep and the Van Der Leegte family,” said Aquila.
Willem van der Leegte, president of the VDL Groep, stated that he was particularly looking forward to further cooperation with Canoo. It is not yet clear what this cooperation will consist of and how it will take shape. In any case, Canoo’s statement is striking, because the reason for the deal with VDL was that the company could start actually building cars earlier.
As a result of the dissolution of the deal, VDL Nedcar must in any case repay an advance of €25 million to Canoo. At the same time, VDL is purchasing €7.5 million from the start-up. Apparently, confidence in the Americans has not been lost. VDL Nedcar now has another year to look for a new client, because the current deal with BMW will expire in 2023. Perhaps Rivian, another US EV startup that appears to be in a more advanced stage than Canoo, could be a possible contender…
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl