NORTH AMERICA REPORT
2022 has been an interesting year on many commercial vehicle fronts including the medium and light electric commercial truck and van segment. While large established OEMs such as Ford, who is expected to produce approximately 6,500 E-Transits at the Kansas City plant in 2022, there has been some shakeup within the electric commercial vehicle start-ups.
During the past six months, Mullen Automotive, based in Brea, CA, has acquired the assets of the now bankrupt Electric Last Mile (ELMS) company and has acquired 60% of Bollinger Motors, which has yet to start vehicle production.
In September 2022, Mullen Automotive invested $148 million into Bollinger Motors, giving Mullen a 60% share of the company. Bollinger plans on introducing their electric class 3 – 6 lineup of cargo vehicles starting in 2023 and it is likely that Bollinger will also manufacture the Mullen electric light commercial vans also starting production in 2023.
Production of the commercial vehicle lineup will take place at the Mullen plant in Tunica, MS. The Mullen light electric vans will likely fill the void left by Ford discontinuing sales of the Transit Connect in the United States by the end of 2023 primarily due to falling sales and a dispute over import duties.
In June of 2022, Electric Last Mile (ELMS) declared bankruptcy and in October Mullen Automotive acquired the ELMS production facility in Mishawaka, IN, along with ELMS’s inventory and intellectual property. Mullen plans to introduce their electric passenger vehicle crossover which will be known as Mullen Five in 2024 and ultimately introduce the Bollinger B1 and B2 pickups into production.
It appears the Mishawaka plant will be dedicated to Bollinger and Mullens passenger vehicle production.
While the class 1 – 6 last mile commercial van and truck segment is a great fit for electrification, time will tell if Mullen Automotive will have enough financing and technical capability to be a significant player in the market or will they end up being another start-up that will ultimately get purchased by another OEM in the next few years. PSR
Chris Fisher, Senior Commercial Vehicle Analyst
Source: Mullen Automotive
