Canoo to liquidate after struggling to scale up production in Oklahoma

A business that was once the focus of Oklahoma's economic development efforts has gone under.

Electric car manufacturer Canoo filed for bankruptcy late Friday. The company said in court documents it has been unable to secure the financing needed to move forward, and Canoo is asking the court to liquidate what remains.

State leaders had recruited Canoo to build electric vehicles in Oklahoma after efforts to attract Tesla ended with the company choosing Texas for its plant. A $15 million state incentive helped close the deal.

"Oklahoma is an energy state, these are energy products, clean energy products," Tony Aquillo, Canoo's CEO, said.

Canoo secured contracts to build thousands of cars but was unable to scale up production to meet those commitments.

"And we focused on industrial, military, DOD," Aquillo said.

The company had a unique modular design intended mainly for business use, not available to the public.

"I think you have to see it to really understand our technology. Otherwise, you have a traditional generational view of automotive," said Aquillo

Canoo began assembling battery packs in Pryor at the MidAmerica Industrial Park (in a now-closed facility) and was assembling cars in Oklahoma City. Production peaked at about 10 vehicles per month before the plant shut down late last year, and employees were laid off.

State and local incentives for the company were tied to employment, which Canoo had been building up—until it appears to have run out of money to continue.

"We pay you after you have created the job, after you have met the expectations and fulfilled the promises you've made," Mayor David Holt of Oklahoma City said.

The liquidation filing indicates that the company has no plans to reorganize, and instead, everything will be sold to pay off some of its debt. Anything could happen with the company’s assets beyond that.

Canoo delivered test vehicles to the military, the U.S. Postal Service, and the state of Oklahoma. In court filings, the company said it tried but was unable to secure federal loans to support electric vehicles.