Canoo unveils electric pickup truck that's way smaller than the Tesla Cybertruck
Canoo is known for its funky looking electric vehicles and its newest pickup truck keeps the pod aesthetic going.
The smooshed box of a truck was unveiled Wednesday evening ahead of an official reveal at the Motor Press Guild’s Virtual Media Day on Thursday. Canoo will open pre-orders in the coming months and the electric truck is expected to arrive by 2023.
The Los Angeles-based startup plans to offer different electric vehicle platforms as part of a subscription-based business model with a monthly fee. Like the other two Canoo vehicles already out, the electric truck is very modular.
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While the truck bed is only 6 feet long it can be extended, features pull-out side sections, and an optional roof rack for more cargo space. The bed opens up and converts the vehicle into a camping-friendly shell. A front cargo space can hold tools, as can drawers near the back wheel bed.
So while it looks (and is) pretty tiny at only 184 inches long, it can hold plenty of gear and equipment. Tesla's Cybertruck was too large for many in its initial incarnation at more than 230 inches long. The Ford F-150, the best-selling vehicle in the U.S., spills out up to 250 inches.
The mini truck will have more than 200 miles of range on a single charge with either one or two electric motors, depending on configuration choices.
Pricing and subscription plans, along with more details about its battery, weren't immediately revealed. But Canoo's whole thing is that its vehicles are built on a multi-purpose platform. Thanks to its flat, thin battery platform, called a "skateboard," the electric part of the vehicle takes up less space. That leaves more room to make each vehicle as customizable as possible. So far Canoo has its original "lifestyle" pod-van and a $33,000 delivery van. There's a waiting list to get subscription access to the pod vehicles.
With this EV the next pod design is an efficiently packaged, fun-sized pickup.
Topics Electric Vehicles
Sasha is a news writer at Mashable's San Francisco office. She's an SF native who went to UC Davis and later received her master's from the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. She's been reporting out of her hometown over the years at Bay City News (news wire), SFGate (the San Francisco Chronicle website), and even made it out of California to write for the Chicago Tribune. She's been described as a bookworm and a gym rat.
