Canoo

Canoo Inc., formerly known as Evelozcity, is an American manufacturer of electric vehicles. The company is located in Torrance, near Los Angeles, California. The company's concept is to produce affordable commercial electric vehicles such as minivans for vehicle rental and ride sharing services.[1]

Canoo Inc.
FormerlyEvelozcity (2017–2019)
TypePublic
NASDAQ: GOEV
IndustryElectric Vehicles
Founded2017 (2017)
FounderStefan Krause and Ulrich Kranz
Headquarters
Torrance, California
,
U.S.
Key people
  • Tony Aquila (Chairman)
  • Ulrich Kranz (CEO)
ProductsCanoo electric van, Multiple Purpose Delivery Vehicle (MPDV)
Number of employees
300 (2020)
Websitewww.canoo.com
Canoo electric van

History

Canoo was founded in 2017 under the name Evelozcity by Stefan Krause and Ulrich Kranz. Krause worked for Deutsche Bank as its chief financial officer while Kranz worked for BMW as a senior executive. Both men met at rival EV company Faraday Future before leaving together to form their own company in 2017 due to disagreement with Faraday Future's leadership. Upon founding Canoo, Krause took on the role of chief executive officer at Canoo while Kranz became Canoo's chief technology officer.[2] The company received its primary funding from Chinese investor Li "David" Pak-Tam/Botan and German entrepreneur David Stern.[3][4]

In April 2018, Canoo hired Karl-Thomas Neumann, the former head of Opel as a senior executive.[5]

In March 2019 the company was renamed from Evelozcity to Canoo.[6]

In July 2019, Karl-Thomas Neumann left Canoo while remaining as an investor in the company.[7]

In September 2019, the company presented its first vehicle prototype, the electric van Canoo.[8]

In February 2020, Hyundai Motor Group, the parent company of Hyundai Motors and Kia Motors, announced that the company will partner with Canoo on the joint development of a new electric vehicle platform. The platform would be utilized for compact vehicles as well as fleet vehicles such as shuttles. The deal is part of Hyundai's Strategy 2025 program which will see Hyundai investing $87 billion USD for five years starting in 2020.[9][10][11]

In July 2020, co-founder Stefan Krause left the company. He had previously taken an extended leave of absence from Canoo in August 2019 in order to address family matters. Co-founder Ulrich Kranz assumed the role of permanent CEO upon Krause's departure.[12][13]

In September 2020, it was announced that Canoo had entered into an agreement for a merger with the special purpose acquisition company Hennessy Capital Acquisition Corp. IV. (NASDAQ:HCACU.O). As a result of the merger, the start-up will be listed on the NASDAQ with a valuation of $2.4 billion USD.[14] This is expected to raise $300 million and will help finance the production of the Canoo minivan, which is expected to be launched in 2022.[15][16]

On December 22nd, 2020, Canoo completed it's merger with Hennessy Capital Acquisition Corp IV. and is now listed on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol (NASDAQ:GOEV).[17]

References
  1. Wirtschaftswoche. "E-Auto-Start-up aus Los Angeles: Canoo geht an die Börse". www.wiwo.de (in German). Retrieved 2020-09-19.
  2. O'Kane, Sean. "How Faraday Future's former 'savior' plans to take on the EV market". The Verge. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  3. Korosec, Kirsten. "EV subscription startup Canoo, co-founder sued for alleged harassment". www.techcrunch. TechCrunch. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  4. O'Kane, Sean. "EV startup Canoo's mysterious backers named in new harassment lawsuit". www.theverge.com. The Verge. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  5. Manthey, Nora. "Ex-Opel boss KT Neumann joins Evelozcity". www.electrive.com. Electrive. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  6. magazin, manager. "Evelozcity: Deutsch kalifornisches Startup heißt jetzt Canoo - manager magazin - Lifestyle". www.manager-magazin.de (in German). Retrieved 2020-09-19.
  7. Hampel, Carrie. "Former Opel boss Neumann leaves Canoo". www.electrive.com. Electrive. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  8. Valdes-Dapena, Peter. "This electric 'lounge on wheels' could be yours -- by subscription only". www.CNN.com. CNN. Retrieved 2020-09-19.
  9. O'Kane, Sean. "Hyundai will build electric vehicles with EV startup Canoo". The Verge. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  10. Randall, Chris. "Canoo & Hyundai to co-develop EV platform". Electrive. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  11. Strong, Michael. "Hyundai Partnering with Specialty EV Maker Canoo". The Detroit Bureau. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  12. Hampel, Carrie. "Stefan Krause steps down as CEO of Canoo". www.electrive.com. Electrive. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  13. Randall, Chris. "Canoo founder Krause leaves the company". www.electrive.com. Electrive. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  14. Klayman, Ben. "U.S. EV startup Canoo to go public at $2.4 billion valuation". www.reuters.com. Thomson Reuters. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  15. Ohnsman, Alan. "Los Angeles EV Startup Canoo Rides SPAC Wave With Plan For Speedy Nasdaq Listing". Forbes. Retrieved 2020-09-19.
  16. Korosec, Kirsten. "Electric vehicle startup Canoo to go public via SPAC". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2020-09-19.
  17. Kilgore, Tomi. "EV maker Canoo's stock set to surge under new ticker symbol 'GOEV'". www.marketwatch.com. Dow Jones. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
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