US 'New Force' in Car Manufacturing, Canoo, Files for Bankruptcy Protection, Halts All Operations
On January 18th, Reuters reported that US electric vehicle startup Canoo announced on Friday that the company will file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection and immediately cease all operations. The electric vehicle startup has been struggling with rapid capital depletion and has failed to secure additional financing due to unclear market demand for its minivan-style vans.
Canoo was once a hot prospect in the US, but began to falter in the second half of last year. The company initiated a round of layoffs and subsequently announced a state of mandatory unpaid leave for its employees.
In April of the same year, it was revealed that Canoo's CEO's annual expenditure on private jets was twice the company's 2023 revenue. By August, the company was sued for failing to repay its debts on time. Then in November, the company laid off 23% of its workforce.
Scandals surrounding Canoo also include 'breaking promises': In November 2023, Canoo announced that it had delivered the first batch of 'Made in Oklahoma' electric vehicles to the state government. However, a former Canoo employee claimed that the factory had not produced any cars, revealing the financial difficulties the company faced. According to the employee, the cars produced by Canoo were not actually manufactured in the Oklahoma plant.
