American EV startup Canoo sinks

AMERICAN electric vehicle startup Canoo has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and will cease operations effective immediately.

Canoo, which produced light commercial vehicles for commercial, fleet, and government customers globally, has struggled to remain viable as demand for its product wanes.

Further, it has been unable to raise the much-needed capital required to stay afloat.

In a statement issued this week, Canoo said, “Recently the company’s executives were in discussion with foreign sources of capital. In light of the fact that these efforts were unsuccessful, the board has made the difficult decision to file for insolvency”.

Canoo began producing electric vehicles in November 2023 with potential incentives and tax breaks totalling $US100 million ($A160.4m) from the state. It cut 23 per cent of its workforce a year later.

The company never came close to profitability. It reported a net loss of $US165 million ($A265.5m) during the first nine months of 2024, compared with a net loss of $204 million ($A329.7m) during the same period of 2023.

It generated only $1.5 million ($A2.4m) in revenue during the first three quarters of 2024.

Last year, the company disclosed that it paid more than $US1.7 million ($A2.7m) for its CEO’s private jet – more than the total revenue it generated in 2023.

Speaking on the company’s demise, CEO Tony Aquila said, “We are truly disappointed that things turned out as they did”.

“We would also like to thank NASA, the Department of Defense, the United States Postal Service, the State of Oklahoma and Walmart for their belief in our products and our company,” he concluded.

Canoo now joins the ranks of myriad EV starts ups that have hit the wall in recent years.

Arrival, Fisker, and Lordstown Motors are already bankrupted.

Lucid remains deep in the red with reported 2024 third quarter losses of $US992.5 million ($A1.6b), while Faraday Future runs on a knife-edge, the company managing to secure $US30 million ($A47.8m) in financing in December of 2024.

The once $US34 billion ($A54.2b) valued Nikola Corporation is now worth just $US100 million ($A160m) after range-wide recalls of its heavy electric truck range and deceptive practices saw shareholders walk away.