Written by Cláudio Afonso | LinkedIn | X
In early July, the U.S. electric vehicle (EV) startup Canoo announced that the logistics company Go2 Delivery had “signed a definitive agreement” to acquire five electric vans. Canoo further stated that the agreement could potentially extend to up to 90 units.
In a new interview with the blog Canooers, the founder and CEO of Go2 Delivery, Eric Brown, said the five units “will serve as a pilot or testing phase for us to validate their performance”.
Established from the 25-year legacy of Mobile One Courier and now rebranded as Go2 Delivery, the company is looking for electric Class I delivery vans and it sees Canoo and the California-based Mullen Automotive as two potential candidates.
However, the CEO opted to do pilot tests with Canoo vehicles due to the better range and safety, when compared to Mullen vans.
“Canoo’s product lineup is unique compared to other players in the market. In the US, only one other company, Mullen, offers a Class I EV delivery van. However, Mullen’s van has a much lower estimated range (110 miles advertised) and is built on a Chinese vehicle model modified from the previous company, ELMS, which raises some safety concerns for me,” he stated.
When asked about the price paid for the five vehicles, Brown said he “can’t share the exact pricing” adding that once the performance satisfies the company’s needs, Go2 Delivery will “consider increasing” the order.
“These initial vehicles will serve as a pilot or testing phase for us to validate their performance. Once we’re satisfied with the performance of the first five vehicles, we’ll consider increasing our order to go beyond the initial batch,” Brown stated.
The logistics company will do “minor uplifting to keep the most flexibility for package sizes and types”, the chief executive said adding that Canoo’s LDV 130s are “all for small parcel delivery for local routes less than 200 miles per day”.
“We are interested in both the 130’s and 190’s, each will fit different needs. The 190s will be primarily used for higher-volume routes. That’s the vision for the long term. So the 190’s are on the radar based on availability,” he added.
Go2 Delivery is adding the pilot vehicles to its fleet Canoo’s Class 1 Lifestyle Delivery Vehicle 130 (LDV130) and the vehicles will provide delivery services in Virginia and the Chesapeake Bay area.
The company provides same-day courier and last-mile delivery services to both B2B and B2C customers in the retail, healthcare, and e-commerce sectors.
Written by Cláudio Afonso | LinkedIn | X
