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Tevva has started manufacturing 7.5-tonne trucks which have a 140-mile range in the UK, with customers including logistics companies Kinaxia and TG Lyons.
It expects to deliver its first vehicle to Royal Mail in the coming weeks, and later develop an electric lorry with a “range extender” hydrogen fuel cell that will increase the distance it can travel without charging to 280 miles.
David Roberts, a Tevva director who will be the company’s executive chairman, said the company had been talking to private investors about raising funds but the markets had been “dreadful” for raising capital.
ElectraMeccanica had $89m (£70m) in cash at the end of June, while Tevva had been chased by suppliers for late payments.
Mr Roberts said the move had not been motivated by US subsidies but added that “we [the UK] need to wake up as a country if we are to invest in electric vehicles”.
ElectraMeccanica had launched a one-seat, three-wheeled electric car called the Solo that cost $18,500 (£14,500) but had been forced to recall the 428 models it sold due to safety issues.
The company’s shares had slumped since its 2018 flotation and last year it brought in Ms Docherty, a former General Motors executive, to lead a turnaround.
Mr Bennett will not be on the company’s board, although Mr Roberts said he would retain a role focused on innovation.
Tevva shareholders will own 76.5pc of the combined company.
The taxpayer is an investor in Tevva through the Future Fund, Rishi Sunak’s pandemic support scheme for loss-making start-ups.
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