Report: To make Walmart order, Canoo will outsource production

A third party will build publicly traded Canoo Inc.’s (NASDAQ: GOEV) first electric delivery vans for Walmart Inc., a change from the startup’s previous plans to assemble them at its Bentonville factory.

Bloomberg reported the news Monday (Aug. 8) following the EV maker’s second-quarter earnings call. In the Bloomberg report, Canoo did not disclose the contractor it would use to produce its debut EV by the end of the year. Canoo CEO Tony Aquila made the comments in a conference call with analysts.

Aquila said Canoo plans to start producing Walmart’s vehicles by the end of the year and deliver the first cars by early next year.

In July, Canoo announced that Walmart had signed a definitive agreement to buy 4,500 delivery vehicles, with an option of buying up to 10,000. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Canoo announced last year that it selected Bentonville as its headquarters and Pryor, Okla., as the site for its U.S. manufacturing. The mobility company has also signed a 10-year lease to occupy a new 270,000-square-foot industrial building at 4700 S.W. Regional Airport Blvd. in Bentonville.

In Monday’s earnings report, Canoo said it has more than $1 billion in its sales pipeline, with about 17% of its units under contract. The company also has contracts with the U.S. Army and NASA.

The EV startup, which intends to relocate its corporate headquarters to Bentonville at some point from Texas, finished the first half of 2022 with just $33.8 million in cash/cash equivalents. It posted a loss of $164.4 million in the second quarter. That’s up from $112.6 million in the second quarter of last year.

Canoo shares traded nearly 16% lower in the morning session Tuesday. The stock recorded a high price of $13.35 and a low price of $1.75 within the past 52 weeks.