Canoo Receives Order From US van Rental Group Kingbee for 9,300 EVs

Canoo, a US advanced mobility company, has announced a binding order for 9,300 electric vehicles (EVs) from Kingbee, a US work-ready van rental provider, with an option to increase to 18,600 vehicles. Kingbee will upfit, wrap and deliver Canoo vehicles as work-ready fleets solutions for enterprise and small and medium sized business (SMB) customers across the US.

Canoo vehicles are American-made commercial electric vehicles built on the company's proprietary multi-purpose platform (MPP) architecture, with modular configurations for a wide range of use cases.

Its Light Duty Vehicles (LDV) combine 120 cubic feet of configurable cargo volume with an 80kwh battery pack with the handling and turning radius of a small passenger vehicle.

They feature a panoramic front window to improve road visibility and utilize true steer by wire technology.

Kingbee customers are enterprise level and regional businesses that are looking to focus their capital on business growth at scale. Clients include Sunrun, Nivo Solar, Blue Raven, Utah Dept. of Health, and industries including energy, plumbing, mobile health, electrical, construction and delivery.

Tony Aquila, Chairman & CEO at Canoo, says: "At Canoo, we engineer and design for fleets, enterprise, SMBs and their workforce. This order is yet another key milestone as we allocate production capacity for the coming years.  New and legacy innovators recognize a need for safety, efficiency and productivity in their fleet portfolio. Our LDV has it all in a fully electric multi-generational platform, with market pushing customization, that is made to last and outperform expectations."

He adds: "Canoo's proprietary platform and tophat technology enables Kingbee to adapt their fleet for evolving use cases at a class leading ROI, while allowing their customers to benefit from a vehicle, that is engineered for workers and optimized for ergonomics, with superior visibility, maneuverability and safety."

Scott Haslam, CEO of Kingbee Rentals, comments: "Canoo vehicles are designed specifically for fleets to be upfit and last multiple users. This is exactly what we need. Our assets are our business and we need products that provide the best driver experience with durability. We've seen that small and medium businesses are looking for sustainable, affordable and flexible solutions that don't tie up all of their cash so this is a win-win for Kingbee. Providing a customized solution that handles well and has great ergonomics for the work vehicle industry. Between Canoo's platform and Kingbee's work-ready upfits, our flexible fleet leasing model will significantly reduce the barriers to entry for many fleets owners who think they have to purchase all of their vehicles. It's even more exciting that it comes in a zero emissions package."

Canoo has teams in California, Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas.