Canoo Inc. was an American
automotive company based in
Torrance, California
Torrance is a coastal city in the Los Angeles metropolitan area located in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city is part of what is known as the South Bay (Los Angeles County), South Bay region of the metropolitan ...
, that developed and manufactured
electric vehicle
An electric vehicle (EV) is a motor vehicle whose propulsion is powered fully or mostly by electricity. EVs encompass a wide range of transportation modes, including road vehicle, road and rail vehicles, electric boats and Submersible, submer ...
s. Canoo's research and development team was based in
Michigan
Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
, in the
Detroit region (
Auburn Hills
Auburn Hills is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. A northern suburb of Detroit, Auburn Hills is located about north of downtown Detroit. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 24,360.
Auburn Hills is home to ...
,
Livonia
Livonia, known in earlier records as Livland, is a historical region on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. It is named after the Livonians, who lived on the shores of present-day Latvia.
By the end of the 13th century, the name was extende ...
), and production operations in
Justin, Texas
Justin is a city in Denton County, Texas, United States. The population was 4,409 in 2020. It is also an outer ring suburb of Fort Worth.
History
In 1848, approximately 70 followers of the French utopian socialist Étienne Cabet arrived in ...
. The company had plans to produce
commercial electric vehicles such as vans for fleet, vehicle rental and ride sharing services. On January 17, 2025, Canoo filed for
Chapter 7 bankruptcy
Chapter 7 of Title 11 U.S. Code is the bankruptcy code that governs the process of liquidation under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. This is in contrast to bankruptcy under Chapter 11 and Chapter 13, which govern the process of ''re ...
.
History
Origins as Evelozcity
Canoo was founded in 2017 under the name Evelozcity by Stefan Krause and Ulrich Kranz. Krause worked for
Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank AG (, ) is a Germany, German multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, and dual-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange.
...
as its chief financial officer while Kranz worked for
BMW
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, trading as BMW Group (commonly abbreviated to BMW (), sometimes anglicised as Bavarian Motor Works), is a German multinational manufacturer of vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Th ...
as a senior executive. Both men had met at rival EV company
Faraday Future
Faraday Future Inc. is an American startup technology company founded in 2014 focused on the development of electric vehicles. Based in Los Angeles, California, it began producing vehicles in 2023 and markets them in the United States and Chi ...
before leaving together to form their own company in 2017, due to disagreement with Faraday Future's leadership. Krause took on the role of chief executive officer at Evelozcity, and Kranz became
chief technology officer. The company received its primary funding from Chinese investor
Li Pak-tam
Li Pak-tam, also known as Li Botan, is a Chinese businessman and socialite. He was one of the three primary backers of the American electric car startup Canoo which was spun off from Faraday Future.
Family and personal life
He is married to Jia ...
and German entrepreneur David Stern.
In April 2018, Evelozcity Canoo hired Karl-Thomas Neumann, the former head of
Opel
Opel Automobile GmbH (), usually shortened to Opel, is a German automobile manufacturer which has been a subsidiary of Stellantis since 16 January 2021. It was owned by the American automaker General Motors from 1929 until 2017 and the PSA Gr ...
, as a senior executive.
Renamed to Canoo
In March 2019 Evelozcity was renamed Canoo. In July 2019, Neumann left Canoo, but he remained an investor in the company.

In September 2019, the company presented its first vehicle prototype, the electric van Canoo, which was later renamed to the
Canoo Lifestyle Vehicle
The Canoo Lifestyle Vehicle (LV) is a battery electric vehicle with multiple body styles sharing a common platform, including minivan, cargo van, and pickup truck, that was manufactured by Canoo. The cargo van variant, named the Lifestyle Delivery ...
.
In February 2020,
Hyundai Motor Group
The Hyundai Motor Group (HMG; ; stylized as HYUNDAI) is a South Korean '' chaebol'' (loosely similar to a multinational conglomerate but without a central holding company or ownership structure) headquartered in Seoul, South Korea.
The HMG a ...
, the parent company of
Hyundai Motors
Hyundai Motor Company, often referred to as Hyundai Motors, ( ) and commonly known as Hyundai (), is a South Korean multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, which was founded in 1967. Currently, the company ow ...
and
Kia Motors
Kia Corporation (, formerly known as Kyungsung Precision Industry (京城精密工業) and Kia Motors Corporation) is a South Korean multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Seoul, ...
, announced that the company would partner with Canoo on the joint development of a new electric vehicle platform. The platform would be used for compact vehicles and for fleet vehicles such as shuttles. The deal is part of Hyundai's ''Strategy 2025'' program which will see Hyundai investing US$87 billion for five years starting in 2020.
In July 2020, co-founder Stefan Krause left the company. He had previously taken an extended leave of absence in August 2019 for family reasons. Co-founder Ulrich Kranz assumed the role of permanent CEO upon Krause's departure. Also in July 2020, Canoo was featured on the TV program ''
Jay Leno's Garage
''Jay Leno's Garage'' is an American web and former television series about motor vehicles, primarily cars and motorbikes starring Jay Leno, the former host of ''The Tonight Show''. Originally a web series for NBC.com, a special aired on CNBC in ...
''.
Going public
In September 2020, Canoo announced a merger with the
special-purpose acquisition company
A special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC; ), also known as a blank check company or a blind-pool stock offering, is a shell corporation listed on a stock exchange with the purpose of acquiring (or merging with) a private company, thus taking ...
Hennessy Capital Acquisition Corp. IV., intending to list Canoo on the
NASDAQ
The Nasdaq Stock Market (; National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the U.S. by volume, and ranked second on the list ...
valued at $2.4 billion. The expectation was to raise $300 million to help finance the production of the Canoo minivan, planned for launch in 2022. On December 22, 2020, Canoo completed its merger with Hennessy Capital Acquisition Corp IV.
A few days before its stock exchange debut, the company announced its
MPDV (Multi-Purpose Delivery Vehicle) product line. The entry level van was expected to sell for $33,000 on arrival in limited quantities in 2022, ramping up to volume production in 2023.
In mid-January 2021, ''The Verge'' reported that in the first half of 2020 Canoo had been in talks with
Apple
An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...
for a potential role in its secretive
Titan car project.
On March 11, 2021, Canoo announced the
Canoo Pickup Truck, an electric
pickup set to release in 2023.
Canoo announced plans to offer both single-motor and dual-motor all-wheel drive options for their pickup truck, with the latter being capable of producing and of torque.
The company said that the truck would have over of range and a payload capacity.
After the announcement, shares of the company rose by 14%.
It was announced in March 2021 that Canoo had terminated its partnership with Hyundai Motor Group due to a change in corporate strategy. The company also announced that it would shift away from vehicle subscriptions to selling commercial vehicles.
Executive and location changes
On April 22, 2021, the company announced that co-founder and CEO Ulrich Kranz was stepping down and would be replaced by chairman
Tony Aquila
Tony Aquila, is an entrepreneur in the United States. He was the Chairman and CEO of Canoo Technologies before its bankruptcy in January 2025.
Aquila has Italian and Lebanese roots.
In 2005, Aquila launched Solera Holdings, an automotive tec ...
as CEO. Also in April 2021, the
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street crash of 1929. Its primary purpose is to enforce laws against market m ...
launched an investigation into Canoo after its merger with Hennessy Capital Acquisition Corp. IV due to a string of executive departures, sudden changes to its business model, and class-action lawsuits brought by shareholders.
On June 17, 2021, the company announced they would build a new factory in
Pryor, Oklahoma
Pryor Creek or Pryor''Oklahoma Atlas & Gazetteer,'' DeLorme, 1st Edition, 1998, p. 36 is a city in and county seat of Mayes County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 9,444 as of the 2020 census.
Originally named ''Coo-Y-Yah'', Chero ...
(just outside
Tulsa
Tulsa ( ) is the second-most-populous city in the state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tul ...
) to manufacture all of their future vehicles.
The plant will be used to build "pod-shaped vans it calls 'lifestyle vehicles' beginning in 2023."
The same day, Dutch media reported that the Dutch company
VDL Nedcar
VDL Nedcar is an automotive manufacturing company in Born, Netherlands.
It is the largest automotive factory in the country, with a production capacity of 240,000 vehicles a year.
Since December 2012 it has been owned by the Dutch industrial ...
would start producing Canoo Minivans for the European market. Later in the year, Canoo and VDL ended the manufacturing agreement. Following receipt of orders in October 2022, Canoo announced plans for construction of a vehicle battery production facility at the
MidAmerica Industrial Park MidAmerica Industrial Park (MAIP), which is Oklahoma's largest industrial park, the third-largest industrial park in the United States, and the eighth-largest industrial park in the world, is located in Pryor, Oklahoma. In 2023, over 80 firms were ...
(MAIP) in Pryor, Oklahoma. This was in addition to its earlier announcement of plans for a vehicle production plant at MAIP capable of producing 300,000 vehicles per year.
On November 15, 2021, the company announced it would move its headquarters to
Bentonville, Arkansas
Bentonville is a city in and the county seat of Benton County, Arkansas, United States. The city is centrally located in the county with Rogers, Arkansas, Rogers adjacent to the east. The city proper had a population of 54,164 at the 2020 Unite ...
and establish a manufacturing plant there. In January 2022, Canoo entered into a 10-year US$17.7 million lease for a building in Bentonville, which was planned to be an "advanced industrialization facility" for low-volume manufacturing. In August 2022, Canoo disclosed they had contracted with a third party for their initial vehicle production. That December, the company still listed Torrance, California as its headquarters,
although later coverage showed the headquarters had moved to
Justin, Texas
Justin is a city in Denton County, Texas, United States. The population was 4,409 in 2020. It is also an outer ring suburb of Fort Worth.
History
In 1848, approximately 70 followers of the French utopian socialist Étienne Cabet arrived in ...
by 2024.
[ As of May 2024, the Bentonville facility appeared to be closed with a “Warehouse for Sublease” sign posted outside.
In May 2022, it was reported that Canoo was struggling to find funding, the company saying that it had only enough funding to operate for one more quarter.] It was also revealed around the same time that Canoo was suing investor Li Pak-Tim, claiming he was selling shares improperly.
In late November 2022, Canoo announced an agreement to purchase of an existing plant in Oklahoma City to start vehicle production by 2023, prior to completion of its micro megafactory in Pryor.
In December 2022, the company sued several former executives for stealing Canoo's trade secrets and poaching talent for their new business, competing EV startup Harbinger Motors.
In April 2023, the company announced that battery production would commence at Pryor to fulfill a United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and superv ...
contract; and, while vehicle manufacturing was to start in Oklahoma City before the end of 2023, long range plans still included vehicle assembly at Pryor because the OKC facility would not meet full production needs. The Oklahoma City plant transaction was completed on April 7, 2023; the plant was formerly owned and operated by Terex
Terex Corporation is an American company and worldwide manufacturer of materials processing machinery, waste and recycling equipment, mobile elevating work platforms, and equipment for the electric utility industry. Terex does business in the ...
. For 2023, Canoo reported in net revenue after delivering 22 vehicles; expenses paid to CEO Aquila's company for private aircraft and shared services were nearly four times that amount, as noted in the annual earnings report.
Demise and bankruptcy
In March 2024, Canoo acquired assets from rival EV startup Arrival
Arrival(s) or The Arrival(s) may refer to:
Film
* ''The Arrival'' (1991 film), an American science fiction horror film
* ''The Arrival'' (1996 film), an American-Mexican science fiction horror film
* ''Arrival'' (film), a 2016 American science ...
after it went bankrupt. A disappointing earnings forecast of US$50–100 million for 2024 sent the stock price down.
In August 2024, Canoo co-founder and chief technology officer Sohel Merchant left the company and Canoo announced it was moving its operations out of Los Angeles.
In December 2024, the company announced it was furloughing 82 employees in Oklahoma and idling its factory while in “advanced discussions with various capital sources” to raise emergency funding.
On January 17, 2025, Canoo filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy
Chapter 7 of Title 11 U.S. Code is the bankruptcy code that governs the process of liquidation under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. This is in contrast to bankruptcy under Chapter 11 and Chapter 13, which govern the process of ''re ...
in the United States bankruptcy court
United States bankruptcy courts are courts created under Article I of the United States Constitution. The current system of bankruptcy courts was created by the United States Congress in 1978, effective April 1, 1984. United States bankruptcy ...
for Delaware, where Canoo was incorporated. The company blamed a heavy loss in cash and failure to seek funding as contributions to the filing. As a result, Canoo ceased operations immediately after the announcement, while the court appoints a trustee to administer asset liquidation and the distribution of remaining proceeds to creditors. Canoo only had less than $50,000 in assets when the company declared Chapter 7 bankruptcy. On 5th March, it was reported that Canoo's CEO, Anthony Aquila, offered to buy almost all of the company's assets for $4 million in cash.
Vehicles
* Canoo LV (announced Sep 2019)
* Canoo MPDV
* Canoo Pickup Truck (announced Mar 2021)
Firm orders
On April 13, 2022, NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...
selected Canoo to supply crew transportation vehicles for its Artemis program
The Artemis program is a Exploration of the Moon, Moon exploration program led by the United States' National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), formally established in 2017 via Space Policy Directive 1. The program's stated long-ter ...
, with a total contract value of $147,855. In total 3 vehicles, used to transport astronauts to the launch pad, were supplied to NASA before Canoo's bankruptcy. These vehicles were Canoo Lifestyle Vehicles tailored and painted for NASA use.
In July 2022, Walmart
Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...
entered into a definitive agreement to purchase 4,500 all-electric Lifestyle Delivery Vehicles (LDV) from Canoo, with an option to buy up to 10,000 in the future. Under the terms, Walmart can terminate the agreement for convenience upon 30 days notice.
Canoo announced two major orders in mid-October 2022. Zeeba, a relatively unknown fleet leasing operation, also based in Greater Los Angeles
Greater Los Angeles is the most populous metropolitan area in the U.S. state of California, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino County and Riverside County in the eas ...
, ordered a combination of 5,450 LDVs and Lifestyle Vehicles (LV), with a binding commitment of 3,000 by 2024. Some days later, Canoo announced its biggest sale to date, an order from Kingbee, a Utah-based work-ready van fleet rental company. In addition to the binding order of 9,300 LDVs, Kingbee has the option to double the order. Kingbee outfits its vans for fleet customers in construction trades (electrical, plumbing, energy), delivery, and mobile health.
In January 2024, Canoo announced the Postal Service (USPS) order for six right-hand-drive LDV vans.
As of October 2024, less than 12 vehicles have been delivered from all orders, appearing to be samples, not regular production.
References
External links
*
{{Insolvent EV companies
2017 establishments in California
American companies established in 2017
American companies disestablished in 2025
Battery electric vehicle manufacturers
Car manufacturers of the United States
Companies based in Torrance, California
Companies listed on the Nasdaq
Electric vehicle manufacturers of the United States
Special-purpose acquisition companies
Electric trucks
Vehicle_manufacturing_companies_established_in_2017
Companies that filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2025