Bollinger Motors is an American automobile manufacturer of electric vehicles based in Oak Park,

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

History

The automotive company Bollinger Motors was founded in

Hobart, New York Hobart is a village in Delaware County, New York, United States. The population was 441 at the 2010 census. The village is in the town of Stamford and is on New York Route 10 in the northeastern part of the county. History The village of Hobar ...

Upstate New York Upstate New York is a geographic region consisting of the area of New York State that lies north and northwest of the New York City metropolitan area. Although the precise boundary is debated, Upstate New York excludes New York City and Long Is ...

in 2014 by its namesake, American entrepreneur Robert Bollinger. The aim was to develop a full-size

electric Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by ...

off-road vehicle An off-road vehicle, sometimes referred to as an overland or adventure vehicle, is considered to be any type of vehicle which is capable of driving on and off paved or gravel surface. It is generally characterized by having large tires with dee ...

. In April 2017, Bollinger showed an aluminum chassis with a wheelbase that weighed alone, designed for a forthcoming "all-electric sport utility truck". The first result of the work of Bollinger's designers was a prototype of a three-door car called the B1, which was presented in June 2017. The car has an austere design distinguished by an angular body covered with matte varnish and the possibility of disassembling the rear part of the roof, its appearance was compared by the automotive press to vintage

Ford Bronco The Ford Bronco is a model line of sport utility vehicles manufactured and marketed by Ford. The first SUV model developed by the company, five generations of the Bronco were sold from the 1966 to 1996 model years. A sixth generation of the mod ...

and

Land Rover Defender The Land Rover Defender (initially introduced as the Land Rover 110 / One Ten, and in 1984 joined by the Land Rover 90 / Ninety, plus the new, extra-length Land Rover 127 in 1985) is a series of British off-road cars and pickup trucks. They c ...

utility vehicles. The market launch of the model was then scheduled for 2019. By August 2017, the manufacturer managed to collect 6,000 "expressions of interest" for the Bollinger B1; these did not require a refundable deposit. Bollinger deliberately designed the 2017 B1 prototype as a medium-duty Class 3 truck with a

GVWR Vehicle weight is a measurement of wheeled motor vehicles; either an actual measured weight of the vehicle under defined conditions or a gross weight rating for its weight carrying capacity. Curb or kerb weight Curb weight (U.S. English) or kerb ...

between in order to reduce the regulatory burden on the company compared to passenger cars and light-duty trucks. In March 2018, Bollinger decided to move its headquarters from New York City to

Ferndale, Michigan Ferndale is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It forms part of the Detroit metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 19,190. Ferndale is well known in the Detroit area for its LGBT population and progr ...

. Two years after the presentation of the B1 prototype, in September 2019, Bollinger presented its first two cars as production-ready prototypes. The production variant of the B1 model underwent cosmetic changes in the exterior and became longer with an additional set of rear doors and a large 4-door B2 pickup was added to the line. Both the B1 and B2 were built on what Bollinger called its E-Chassis; Bollinger stated in March 2020 the largely symmetric E-Chassis, which had

double wishbone A double wishbone suspension is an independent suspension design for automobiles using two (occasionally parallel) wishbone-shaped arms to locate the wheel. Each wishbone or arm has two mounting points to the chassis and one joint at the knuckle ...

independent suspension at all four wheels, would be made available for commercial upfitters in 2021. In April 2020, Bollinger announced that serial production and sales of both B1 and B2 models would start in 2021 and showed renderings of a B2

chassis cab A chassis cab, also called a cab chassis or half truck, is a type of vehicle construction, often found in medium duty truck commercial vehicles. Instead of supplying the customer with a factory pre-assembled flatbed, cargo container, or other eq ...

model, offering the cab section of the B2 in 2- and 4-door versions with a variety of wheelbases to accommodate a variety of commercial uses. In August 2020, the company headquarters moved from Ferndale to

Oak Park, Michigan Oak Park is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population of Oak Park was 29,560. As a northern suburb of Metro Detroit, Oak Park shares its sout ...

. 1,000 preorders were received for the B1 and B2 trucks by the fall, with interested potential owners paying a refundable US$1,000 deposit. Also in August 2020, Bollinger showed renderings of the Deliver-E, a

panel van A panel van, also known as a blind van, car-derived van (United Kingdom) or sedan delivery (United States), is a small cargo vehicle with a passenger car chassis, typically with a single front bench seat and no side windows behind the B-pillar. ...

designed for package delivery companies spanning multiple weight classes, from Class 2B to 5, and a choice of wheelbases. The Deliver-E does not use the E-Chassis, and would include a variety of battery capacity options for the van-specific platform, which would be equipped with front-wheel drive. In March 2021, Bollinger announced the B2 cutaway chassis cab and E-Chassis had been renamed to the B3 Chass-E Cab (with a 2-door cab) and Chass-E, respectively, and provided prices for rear-wheel drive, rear-wheel drive with dual rear wheels, and all-drive versions. In mid-January 2022, the company announced a major shift in direction, postponing development of its consumer models in favor of a commercial vehicle platform, saying it would refund B1 and B2 deposits. The Bollinger Commercial Platform for medium-duty Class 3-6 trucks is a rear-drive skateboard chassis with a

leaf-sprung A leaf spring is a simple form of spring commonly used for the suspension in wheeled vehicles. Originally called a ''laminated'' or ''carriage spring'', and sometimes referred to as a semi-elliptical spring, elliptical spring, or cart spring, i ...

rear

live axle A beam axle, rigid axle or solid axle is a dependent suspension design in which a set of wheels is connected laterally by a single beam or shaft. Beam axles were once commonly used at the rear wheels of a vehicle, but historically they have als ...

and front double wishbone suspension that will be offered to upfitters, which will use the platform as the basis for tow trucks, trash trucks, buses and other commercial EVs. In May 2022, Roush Industries was announced as the manufacturing partner for the Commercial Platform and the Deliver-E van. In September 2022, renderings of the Commercial Platform-based Bollinger B4 cab-forward medium-duty Class 4 truck were unveiled. Also in September 2022, Mullen Automotive acquired a 60% controlling interest in Bollinger Motors for US$148.2 million. The news spurred speculation the B1/B2 could be relaunched.

Products

* B1 (cancelled) * B2 (cancelled) * B3 Chass-E Cab / E-Chassis (cancelled) * B4 (Class 4 truck) * Commercial Platform ( medium-duty Class 3-6 trucks, GVWR ) * Deliver-E ( medium-duty Class 2b-5 vans, GVWR )

References

External links

Official websiteBollinger Commercial Trucks
{{Automotive industry in the United States Electric vehicle manufacturers of the United States American companies established in 2014 Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 2014 Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Michigan Companies based in Macomb County, Michigan 2014 establishments in New York City Car manufacturers of the United States