Canoo, a high-tech advanced mobility company, has received a binding order for 9,300 American-made electric vehicles (EV) from Kingbee, a national 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 customers across the U.S.
“At Canoo, we engineer and design for fleets, enterprise, SMBs and their workforce,” says Tony Aquila, chairman and CEO at Canoo. “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.”
“Canoo’s proprietary platform and top-hat 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,” adds Aquila.
Canoo vehicles are commercial EVs built on the company’s proprietary multi-purpose platform (MPP) architecture, with modular configurations for a wide range of use cases. Canoo provides most of the vehicle service, maintenance and updates over the air, which decreases vehicle downtime and increases ROI for fleet operators.
Designed and engineered with the driver in mind, Canoo vehicles feature a panoramic front window to improve road visibility and utilize true steer by wire technology, resulting in more usable interior space and better driver ergonomics.
The LDV combines 120 cubic feet of configurable cargo volume with an 80 kWh battery pack with the handling and turning radius of a small passenger vehicle.
Kingbee provides a turnkey solution for fleet rental, delivering fully upfitted commercial solutions with optional signage to operators with flexible leasing terms.
“We are excited to partner with Canoo to provide sustainable work vehicle rentals to our customers,” mentions Scott Haslam, CEO of Kingbee Rentals. “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,” continues Haslam. “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.”
