Canoo is showing off its latest model. The EV startup that’s aimed at primarily attracting commercial customers kicked off its second quarter 2023 earnings call on August 14 by officially introducing its Lifestyle Delivery Vehicle 190.
The LDV 190 shares the same platform as the LDV 130 but has more cargo capacity and a beefed-up suspension for heavier loads.
Canoo CEO and Chairman Tony Aquila stressed the amount of durability testing and certification work that’s been completed on the way to ramping up for volume production, starting with a 20,000 unit run rate.
On the financial side Canoo announced its order book has risen to $3 billion with 70 percent of the orders coming from commercial customers.
Canoo’s CEO says it’s also reached a deal with another Fortune 100 customer, although he declined to divulge who it is. “It’s an industrial customer. They want to keep, you know, these customers like element of surprise,” said Aquila.
Canoo says its manufacturing and battery lines in Oklahoma are “nearing substantial completion.” At this point Aquila says 2025 is the big focus because that’s when production is expected to rise to a break-even point.
“These facilities can break even at 40,000 or slightly below and have free cash flow,” Aquila said.
Canoo plans to only build pre-sold vehicles to keep inventory cost down. “We maintain the projections to achieve a 40,000 run rate by 2024 with an incremental capital expenditure of 90 to $120 million, thereby allowing us to target gross margin positive in 2025,” said Ramesh Murthy, Canoo Sr. Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer.
Aquila said he expects 20 to 30 vehicles to be assembled at the new Oklahoma City factory by the end of this year if everything stays on schedule.
The biggest worry for investors continues to be whether Canoo can hang on long enough financially to move beyond low volume production.
Ramesh believes his company’s laser focus on manufacturing while cutting costs in other areas will allow the EV maker to reach volume production. “This focus will ensure that we have the necessary capital to deploy as we execute our plan to achieve a 20,000 unit run rate per year manufacturing readiness,” said Ramesh.
Reuters reported Canoo posted a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss, sending its stock up 2% after the earnings call in extended trading. Canoo’s loss narrowed to $70.9 million in the second quarter from $164.4 million a year earlier.
The day after the earnings call Canoo announced an October 5 special meeting of stockholders to vote to increase the authorized number of shares in an effort to raise more capital.
Editorial disclosure: The author of this post is a Canoo stockholder.