Bankrupt commercial startup EV Arrival has sold some of its assets, including advanced manufacturing equipment, to Canoo, another startup trying to build and sell electric vehicles.
The acquisition, which has been touted as a cost-saving measure that will reduce capital expenditure by 20%, comes as Canoo struggles to move beyond prototypes to commercial production. Canoo said the purchased assets, packed on more than 20 container ships, will be shipped to the company’s facility in Oklahoma. The company previously acquired all new and “like new” assets belonging to the Arrival business unit in the United States. It is unclear whether Canoo also acquired any of Arrival’s IP.
Canoo did not respond to a request for comment.
Arrival announced in January that it planned to sell assets and IP from its UK division after filing for UK bankruptcy protection. electric vehicles by manufacturing them in compact “micro-factories” that could be located in city centers.
Those plans, which included an electric bus, trucks and even a custom-built car for Uber, collapsed as it burned through cash and several executives. Arrival has restructured at least three times – in each case laying off workers – and shifted its focus to the United States and away from the UK market to preserve capital. Arrival has never produced commercial vehicles at scale and its market valuation is now around $7.7 million. After years of volatility and a stock price that lost almost all of its value, the company filed for bankruptcy.
Canoo, meanwhile, had its own struggles. After going public through a merger with a special-purpose buyout firm, the company struggled to produce its EV, an eye-catching design based on a “skateboard” architecture that houses the batteries and electric drivetrain in a chassis under the cabin of the vehicle.
Canoo previously reported more than $1 billion in sales, a figure largely due to a deal with Walmart to buy 4,500 units, with an option to buy up to 10,000 units. However, the company struggled to convert those sales into deliveries.
Canoo is essentially a pre-revenue company burning through cash and had to go back to stock splits and issue more shares to stay afloat. Last year, the company moved to a different level on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange after its share price remained below $1 and triggered a delisting notice.
