US EV start-up Canoo has announced a bulk order of its electric delivery vehicles to a Saudi Arabian paint manufacturer Jazeera Paints.
Jazeera Paints will initially purchase 20 of Canoo's electric vehicles into its fleet in 2024, with the option to expand up to 180 additional vehicles, Canoo says
"This agreement taps into the Saudi Arabian EV market, which commands a total addressable market of over $30bn, and aligns with initiatives within the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region to enhance sustainable mobility solutions," Canoo says.
The Saudi market has also been targeted by fellow US EV start-up Lucid, which has an outstanding order for up to 50,000 of its electric sedans from the Kingdom.
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The nation's sovereign wealth fund is the largest stakeholder in Lucid as the Kingdom looks to attract the EV industry as the electric transition threatens long-term demand for the country's oil.
"These electric commercial delivery vehicles provide Canoo with a first mover advantage in the Saudi market and a competitive position in the GCC region," Canoo says.
The company's outstanding orders will require a steep production increase, as the company separately revealed that it produced just 22 vehicles across 2023, 17 of which were made in Q4.
Canoo recently purchased "a substantial portion" of the manufacturing equipment previously owned by bankrupt UK commercial EV maker Arrival, which will now be used at the firm's Oklahoma factory.
Discounted equipment purchases and a newly established Free Trade Zone around its Oklahoma facility will bring an estimated $70mn in vehicle cost savings across 2024 and 2025, the company says.
Canoo's balance sheet reveals, however, that its current debts amount to almost ten times its current cash levels.
The company's guidance for cash burn rate of $45mn-75mn/quarter will tax its liquidity situation, however, as the firm tells investors it expects revenue for full-year 2024 to be between $50mn and $100mn.
Ciaran has written about finance, politics and culture. He is passionate about e-mobility and what it means for our way of life.
Ciaran has a Masters in Ancient Philosophy from Oxford University.
