Another electric vehicle maker appears to be on the brink of collapse, the latest in a growing trend of EV startups failing to break through in a crowded marketplace.
This time it’s Bollinger Motors, a commercial EV company founded nearly 10 years ago. According to The Detroit News, the company, which was acquired by Mullen Automotive in 2022, has been struggling to pay employees, contribute to 401(k) accounts and cover debts. Those debts include a $10 million loan from founder Robert Bollinger, who earlier this year filed a lawsuit against the company, claiming it was broke and that production had stopped.
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Now Bollinger has been placed in court-ordered receivership, which will figure out what to do with the company’s remaining assets.
The financial struggles for Bollinger come shortly after the company announced its B4 Chassis Cab, an all-electric Class 4 commercial truck. Production for the vehicle began last year in Michigan. But as the report points out, sales have been slow for the nearly $140,000 truck, with only two sold in the past month and about 40 in inventory.
Bollinger had partnered with Roush Industries to build its B4 trucks but production stopped in January and now Bollinger is completely locked out of the facility after missing $1.8 million in payments.
Bollinger’s troubles reflect similar hardships for other electric vehicle companies. Earlier this year, both Nikola and Canoo filed for bankruptcy. And last year, Fisker shut down and tried to get out of the lease at its former California headquarters, which were apparently vacated so quickly that the company’s landlord described the aftermath as “complete disarray,” and that the building looked like it had been “ransacked.”
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