Canoo declares bankruptcy and ends its operations

The story of Canoo appears to have come to an end, despite being one of the most promising startups in the sector in recent years. Founded in 2017 under the name Evelozcity, Canoo drew public attention with its innovative platform, capable of adapting to different body types, from saloons to MPVs.

The company’s inability to attract all the capital needed to carry out its innovative ideas has, however, led Canoo to declare bankruptcy and end its dream of becoming a relevant player in the electric car industry.

Canoo’s funding problems began to come to light last November, when the company was forced to lay off almost a quarter of its workforce. At its peak, around 2021, Canoo had about 800 employees, but by 2024 its headcount had already fallen significantly, even before this major staff reduction.

A difficult end of the year for one of the most promising startups in the sector

Canoo tried to weather the storm by describing these layoffs as a temporary measure needed to achieve financial stability, but in statements to the media, some of the laid-off employees already questioned the company’s viability in the medium and long term. We can now conclude that they were not wrong.

Just one month later, doubts about Canoo’s future grew dramatically when the company announced the dismissal of its remaining workforce of 82 employees. This situation ultimately led the company to declare bankruptcy at the start of 2025, announcing the immediate cessation of operations and the beginning of the liquidation of its assets to pay its creditors and other outstanding debts.

Following this announcement, Tony Aquila, Canoo’s main investor and Chief Executive Officer, wanted to express his gratitude to everyone who at some point worked to make this project succeed, and also his deep disappointment at not having been able to achieve that goal.

“We want to thank our employees for their dedication and effort. We know they believed in the company as much as we did. We are truly disappointed with how things have turned out. We also thank NASA, the Department of Defense, the United States Postal Service, the State of Oklahoma and Walmart for their trust in our products and in the company itself.”

In the end, the expectations were not met

Canoo’s future seemed promising until just a few years ago, when Hyundai even signed a collaboration agreement in 2020 for the joint development of a platform for electric vehicles. However, this was not enough to keep Canoo afloat, and over time it became evident that the agreement did not allow the company to obtain significant profits.

Meanwhile, in 2024 the United States Postal Service placed an order for six Lifestyle Delivery Vehicle 190 MPVs from Canoo, with the intention of evaluating their possible incorporation into the mail delivery fleet. The British Royal Mail was also testing two units of this same vehicle, and even confirmed its intention to place a major order of up to two thousand units if these test vehicles met the company’s expectations.

Canoo’s demise highlights how difficult it is to survive in this industry and offers a lesson to consider regarding the financial and operational challenges that many startups face in the competitive electric vehicle market.