VDL NedCar has a new client. It concerns the American start-up Canoo, which is currently developing several EVs. Both parties signed a contract yesterday. It states that Canoo wants to have the ‘Lifestyle Vehicle’ produced at VDL until at least 2028.
The Canoo Lifestyle Vehicle is an MPV-like that the start-up already showed at the end of 2019. For the production, Canoo now calls on the help of VDL Nedcar, which was looking for a new customer after BMW announced that it would stop the production of cars in Born in Limburg from the end of 2023. VDL Nedcar will start production of the Lifestyle Vehicle in the fourth quarter of 2022. In that period, 1,000 copies of the EV will be screwed together, in 2023 the production volume should be 15,000 copies. Canoo has the intention to produce at least until 2028 at the Dutch car factory.
Tony Aquila, CEO of Canoo, is full of praise for VDL Nedcar. “We have conducted a thorough search for our first contract manufacturer,” he says. “VDL Nedcar is the right partner. They are the most trusted European manufacturer, outperform the competition and build high-quality products for leading brands”. Furthermore, Aquila considers it important that VDL Nedcar is a family business, because Canoo likes to support companies that ‘form the backbone of the community’. The Canoos produced in the Netherlands are intended for both the European and American markets. In the meantime, Canoo is working on its own car factory in Oklahoma, but the collaboration with VDL Nedcar enables the start-up to start production earlier.
Future prospects for VDL Nedcar
Director John Soerland of VDL Nedcar is also enthusiastic about the collaboration. “It’s great news for our employees in Born,” he emphasizes. Canoo is not the only customer in his future vision for the car factory. “This collaboration offers perspective and is the first step towards a new future for VDL Nedcar. A future in which we build different cars for several brands at the same time.” VDL Nedcar indicates that discussions are currently taking place with interested parties about the production of cars in Born. Ultimately, the intention is for both start-ups and established brands to become customers of the factory. With the planned production of Canoo alone, the company says it cannot keep its staff at work. In addition, VDL Nedcar also wants to assemble battery packs locally.
The Canoo Lifestyle Vehicle that VDL Nedcar will produce.
VDL Nedcar does not yet have a permit for new construction on the site, but is looking for possible temporary housing for Canoo on the factory site. A spokesperson for VDL Nedcar tells Techzle that the preparatory actions for the expansion of the factory, such as cutting down the forest around the site, have already been started. The final plan for the new building had already been approved by the province, but had not yet been ratified by the Council of State. The permit for the extension can only be issued once the Council of State has ratified the plan. In any case, VDL Nedcar states that the new production activities for Canoo have no influence on the current production for BMW.
canoo
Canoo currently has three different vehicles planned: the aforementioned ‘Lifestyle Vehicle’, the ‘MPDV’ and the ‘pick-up’. The names may not be very creative, but the cars are. Canoo teamed up with Hyundai to develop a modular electric platform. The Lifestyle Vehicle will therefore be the first on the market, has a maximum of seven seats and has an 80 kWh battery pack on board. This should allow a range of 400 kilometers. In America, the model has a starting price of $ 34,750, converted € 29,114. Information about a Dutch market launch with an associated price is not yet known.