Canoo plans for electric delivery vehicles, sporty car after rad-looking van

Canoo looks like one of the more promising electric car startups out there, but it has far grander plans beyond its super-cool-looking van vehicle, known as the Canoo. In an announcement showing off the performance aspects of its modular skateboard platform on Thursday, the startup said it plans for additional vehicles in just three years.

What kind of vehicles? All Canoo mentioned were a "series of delivery vehicles" and a "sport vehicle." The delivery machines should launch in 2023, but the startup didn't mention a timeframe for the sporty car. When asked for additional information, a Canoo spokesperson told Roadshow the delivery vehicles will likely come in three sizes to provide anywhere from 219 to 353 cubic feet of cargo space. The attached rendering shows off a pickup truck, a delivery van of sorts and what looks like a larger delivery truck. Each of them wear the Canoo design language quite well, too.

Delivery vehicles are a super-popular segment for EV startups to focus on. Companies continue to focus on ways to lower emissions for fleet vehicles, and EVs make a lot of sense, especially for last-mile deliveries. Those are the trips where a driver takes the package to its final destination in the city. And in metro areas where emissions and noise pollution are of growing concern, EVs excel further.

But, Canoo will have plenty of rivals should it deliver on its promised commercial vehicles. Chief among them is Rivian, flush with cash from online retailing giant Amazon. The Michigan-based company already showed prototypes for its purpose-built Amazon delivery van, and the retailer plans to put 100,000 of them on the roads by the end of this decade. It's also unclear if Canoo's subscription model will transfer to commercial vehicles.

As for the sporty vehicle, it sounds like Canoo targets some sort of sedan. It will be the second consumer vehicle, according to the information Canoo supplied us, and should boast 300-plus miles of range. The modular chassis will provide the space of a midsize sedan, but the startup hopes to design the car with the footprint of a compact car instead with room for four to five passengers. Canoo, if you don't know, is all about maximizing interior space.

Canoo plans to launch the Canoo van in 2022 in Los Angeles and slowly expand its subscription model to other cities in the US.

Canoo's subscription-only EV isn't as up a creek sans paddle as it might seem

+32 More

See all photos