Canoo installs production capacity with equipment purchase
The start-up says its strategy of buying second-hand machinery will lower capex and unit costs
US EV start-up Canoo has purchased "a substantial portion" of the manufacturing equipment previously owned by bankrupt UK commercial EV maker Arrival, which will now be used at Canoo's Oklahoma factory.
Canoo now says it has installed capacity to meet its year-end 2025 production guidance for its electric LCVs and electric pickups. The firm adds that the equipment enables it to gradually lower its unit costs.
"Canoo has the necessary manufacturing equipment to deliver 2024 production and this acquisition expands its capabilities to deliver its 2025 production at significantly lower costs," the company says in a release.
The equipment was bought at around an 80pc discount, Canoo says, after UK firm Arrival entered administration in February.
Canoo initially purchased a cache of manufacturing assets from the then-unnamed company in early January, including robotics to controls processing equipment that will be used to build vehicle cabins.
Canoo shares are up 74pc in the past month after a ramp up in production since November began to return revenue.
In January, the firm delivered 130 electric light-duty vans (LDVs) to Kingbee, a Utah-headquartered van fleet solutions provider. The company also delivered the first vehicles of a 5,450 unit order to fleet company Zeeba.
The assets purchased in this opportunistic transaction will accelerate Canoo’s transition to automated processes by shortening purchase lead times by over 40pc, reducing capital expenditures by 20pc, and eventually lowering unit costs, Canoo says.
Canoo is producing vehicles in limited numbers and says it is seeking to raise funds. The company intends to continue purchasing used manufacturing equipment for its production.
“Our current strategy will save our shareholders tens of millions of dollars, which today, is not properly reflected in the value of our company. We remain focused on capital discipline and the smartest way to invest and create value,” says Canoo CEO Tony Aquila.
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