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In its short life and despite having an interesting project, Canoo has never managed to make a profit from its activity. This is precisely what has prevented it from obtaining the necessary financing to continue.
Canoo’s story seems to have come to an end, despite being one of the most promising startups in the sector in recent years. Founded in 2017 under the name Evelozcity, Canoo gained public attention with its innovative platform, able to adapt to different types of bodywork, from sedans to minivans.
The company’s inability to attract all the capital necessary to carry out its innovative ideas has, however, led Canoo to finally declare bankruptcy and put an end to the dream of becoming a major player in the electric car industry.
Canoo’s funding problems began to come to light last November, when the company was forced to lay off nearly a quarter of its workforceAt its peak, back in 2021, Canoo had around 800 employees, but years later by 2024 its workforce had already been significantly reduced, even before having to make this significant staff reduction.
A complicated end of the year for one of the most promising startups in the sector
Canoo tried to weather the storm by describing these layoffs as a temporary measure necessary to achieve financial stability, but in statements to the media some of these laid-off employees already questioned the viability of the company in the medium and long term. Now we can conclude that they were not wrong..
Just a month later, doubts about Canoo’s future increased dramatically when the company announced the dismissal of the rest of its workforce of 82 employees. A situation that has finally led to the company declaring bankruptcy at the beginning of 2025, announcing the immediate cessation of operations and the beginning of the liquidation of its assets to pay its creditors and other outstanding debts.
Following this announcement, Tony Aquila, Canoo’s lead investor and CEO, wanted to express his gratitude to all those who once worked to bring this project to fruition, and also his deep disappointment at not being able to achieve that goal.
“We want to thank our employees for their dedication and effort. We know they believed in the company as much as we did. We are truly disappointed with how things have turned out. We also thank NASA, the Department of Defense, the United States Postal Service, the State of Oklahoma and Walmart for their confidence in our products and the company itself.”
Expectations were ultimately not met
Canoo’s future looked bright until just a few years ago, when even Hyundai signed a collaboration agreement in 2020 for the joint development of an electric vehicle platform. However, this was not enough to keep Canoo afloat, and over time it became clear that the agreement did not allow the company to make significant profits.
On the other hand, in 2024 the United States Postal Service placed an order for six minivans Lifestyle Delivery Vehicle 190 Canoo, with the intention of evaluating its possible incorporation into the mail delivery fleet. The British Royal Mail was also testing two units of this same vehicle, and even He confirmed his intention to place a large order of up to two thousand units whether these test vehicles met the company’s expectations.
Canoo’s departure highlights how difficult it is to get ahead in this industry and is a lesson to consider about the financial and operational challenges that many startups face in the competitive electric vehicle market.
