Electric vehicle startup Canoo has unveiled a pair of new EV delivery van models that will serve as a rival to General Motors’ upcoming electric utility van.
Canoo’s two EV delivery van models are called the MPDV1 and the MPDV2. The MPDV1 is smaller and offers about 200 cubic feet of storage space, while the MPDV2 is better suited for bigger jobs and has 450 cubic feet of cargo space. The MPDV1 also has a maximum payload of 1,540 lbs to 1,980 lbs, while the MPDV2 has a slightly lower ratings of 1,320 lbs to 1,760 lbs. EVs with smaller batteries can have larger maximum payloads, as the weight of the larger battery eats away at the payload capacity.
Power comes from a single electric motor producing 200 horsepower and 236 pound-feet of torque. The motor is mounted on the front axle, making the vans front-wheel-drive.
Both of these EV delivery van models will be available with battery packs ranging from 40 kWh to 80 kWh in size. The MPDV1 will have an estimated range of 130 to 230 miles depending on the size of the battery pack, while the MPDV2 wil be able to travel between 90 and 190 miles on a charge. The vans both support DC fast charging, as well, which will be able to charge the battery from 20 percent to 80 percent capacity in around 28 minutes.
Canoo says the MPDV1 and MPDV1 will be available in limited quantities in late 2022, with the company targeting 2023 for full production. Prices for the MPDV1 start at $33,000 USD and Canoo is currently taking reservations for $100 a pop.
Canoo entered into an agreement to merge with special-purpose acquisition company Hennessy Capital Acquisition Corp. in September, paving the way for the start-up to be listed on the NASDAQ. The automaker already unveiled a minibus-shaped people mover last year, which it hopes to put into production in 2022 before turning its attention to the MPDV1 and MPDV2. Canoo also has a utility truck in development, which it plans to release more details on in the near future.
GM has not released any official information on its upcoming battery-electric utility van. The vehicle is expected to fall under the Chevy brand, however, and will tap its Ultium battery technology and Ultium Drive family of electric motors. It should enter production at the automaker’s Factory Zero plant sometime between now and 2025.
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Comments
What is taking GM so long with its electric van?
They are going to miss a lot of e-commerce industry related sales if they let everyone with a tool shed and some LEGO blocks build an EV van before them.
Wow, this is the best van design I’ve ever seen; perfectly utilitarian while being futuristic with its boxy shape. People see Elon Musk as a genius i agree to an extent. I think he’s a genius in terms of using guerilla marketing tactics namely feeling pulse of enthusiastic millennial audience then pairing a persona with the brand through a non-stop visibility on classical and social media.
But i don’t think he’s genus in terms of vision of or being businessman. if it is the case then he should have started with delivery vans yet he still doesn’t have plan to bring a DV to the market. Instead he started with much more complex passenger sedans that also need extensive charging network or and bigger range. For a Silicon Valley tech startup with limited resources and having no idea what it takes to be a mass production car company it was the wrong choice in my judgment.
On the other hand commercial vans beside being a perfectly profitable vehicles, ask Ford, they’re very easy to produce with simple and lesser number of parts, you don’t have to worry creating fancy interiors or looker of a car and yet still criticized by nitpicking sauced retail customers. For one you don’t need huge battery capacity for delivery vehicles that usually see less than 50 miles per day , you can be generous and cover that with a 35 to 50 KW equivalent to 100 mile battery pack. This was more critical a couple years before because battery tech gradually advances over years and it was single big factor that held back Tesla in the beginning. The lack of range and expensive battery packs biggest knock against them, yet still it’s the case if you for some.
Eon could easily eliminated all this trouble if had seen this opportunity. Vans also don’t need any extensive charging network, as a matter of fact any public charging which Tesla had to establish and spend tones of money before even selling a single car. I iterate delivery vans don’t cover long distances and don’t leave the city environment and they return the company hub to spend the night, so they can easily charged in off hours until the sunrise or any time to correspond to shift. If you still prefer fast charging you just need to install charging equipment to one location; company parking lot.
To me this is a badly missed opportunity for Tesla they could have learned how to make mass production much easier vehicle and sell tons of them “globally”. Because no matter where you live you need vans and more or less peoples’ needs are same, best example of this is Ford Transit, You can see the same Transit van model almost anywhere in the world with perfectly same design; From Asia to Europe to Americas… Ford sells millions of them and make big bucks, matter of fact Transit along with F series is the product keeps Ford afloat in recent years.
I agree GM should seize this opportunity that Elon is handing them on a silver platter and launch not just a delivery van rather a family of light commercial vehicles ,before it’s too late and the segment populated by other players.
Depends who you ask. A Tesla DV based off of Cybertruck is a certain thing to some industry insiders but some still think it will not happen. You have to understand that Tesla has a Capacity issue never a Demand issue. This is why they are building three Factories at the same time in three different continents.
Now me personally, I would be floored if Tesla doesn’t do a DV.
GM needs the EV Van ASAP.