• Walmart said it expects Canoo EVs to go into service in 2023
Walmart Inc (NYSE: WMT) has signed a deal with Canoo Inc (NASDAQ: GOEV) to buy 4,500 electric vans as part of the US retailer’s goal to attain net-zero emissions by 2040.
The retail giant will receive the first Canoo’s Lifestyle Delivery Vehicle, which Walmart expects to hit the road for deliveries in 2023. The company also said it had the option to purchase up to 10,000 units as it electrifies its delivery fleet.
Shares of Canoo doubled early in the morning but closed at $3.66, more than 50% higher than Monday’s closing price.
The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“By continuing to expand our last-mile delivery fleet in a sustainable way, we’re able to provide customers and Walmart+ members with even more access to same-day deliveries while keeping costs low,” Walmart’s senior vice president of innovation and automation, David Guggina, said in a press release.
In June, Walmart said it was expanding transportation pilots with electric, hydrogen and natural gas-powered vehicle manufacturers, including Cummins Inc (NYSE: CMI) and Daimler Truck’s Freightliner.
The retailer in January said it had reserved 5,000 electric delivery vans with General Motors’ (NYSE: GM) commercial EV business, BrightDrop.
Several companies are pushing into the growing commercial EV space as pressures from governments and investors are increasing to slash CO2 emissions.
Companies like FedEx Corp (NYSE FDX), United Parcel Service Inc (NYSE: UPS) and Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) have pledged to shift their large delivery fleets to EVs.
Canoo anticipates starting production of its EVs beginning in the fourth quarter of 2022. Earlier, the EV startup CEO Tony Aquila said the company expects to build 14,000 to 17,000 vehicles in 2023.
Picture Credit: Walmart
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