Canoo electric car start-up files for bankruptcy

Insolvency E-car start-up Canoo is bankrupt

2025-01-29 From Andreas Grimm | Translated by AI 1 min Reading Time

Despite promising orders, the vehicle manufacturer Canoo must give up. The involvement of a lineup of German auto managers in the start-up attracted attention here.

With futuristic lifestyle vans—also in a transporter variant—Canoo wanted to shake up the electric car market.(Image: Canoo) — With futuristic lifestyle vans—also in a transporter variant—Canoo wanted to shake up the electric car market.
(Image: Canoo)

The next electric car startup is bankrupt. As reported by the news agency Reuters on Friday (January 17), the US company Canoo based in Justin, Texas, has filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 7 of the US Bankruptcy Code. The company, which was supposed to launch an electric van and a small transporter in series production back in 2021, had been quiet for some time.

But recently, the cash reserves had dwindled significantly. Uncertain demand for the products made it difficult to acquire additional funds, writes Reuters. As recently as early 2024, Canoo had taken over significant production parts of the insolvent British electric vehicle developer Arrival, reports the specialist portal "Electrive.com."

Post and Walmart as potential customers

As Canoo itself stated, it ultimately failed to secure financial support from the U.S. Department of Energy. "Given that these efforts were unsuccessful, the board made the difficult decision to file for bankruptcy," Canoo said in a statement. According to its own accounts, the company was already supplying the U.S. Postal Service, the state of Oklahoma with vehicles, and had agreements with Walmart.

To preserve the remaining assets for the bankruptcy proceedings, Canoo has ceased operations with immediate effect. A court-appointed trustee will now manage the liquidation of the company's assets. "Our team will work closely with the bankruptcy trustee to support the process," the statement said. "We are disappointed," said Canoo CEO Tony Aquilla.

Toyota continues to develop fuel cell drives. In series applications, however, the focus is shifting towards commercial vehicles. (Image:Toyota)

Started as Evelozcity

There appears to be no hope for the continuation of the company: Chapter 7 of the bankruptcy code, unlike the well-known Chapter 11, governs the complete liquidation of the debtor's assets. Canoo was the successor company to the Evelozcity project, which was driven forward by German automotive managers Ulrich Kranz, Stefan Krause (both BMW, Faraday Future), and Karl-Thomas Neumann (Opel, Continental). The company was renamed Canoo in 2019.

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