Canoo’s First EV Is A Very Spacious, Subscription-Only Van Coming In 2021

Electric car startup Canoo, formerly known as EVelozity, has just unveiled its very first production-bound EV that it hopes to start building in 2021.

The vehicle is simply dubbed the Canoo and is an all-electric van that will be available exclusively through a subscription-only program where customers will pay a monthly fee to drive the car and cover all costs such as registration, insurance, charging and maintenance.

Its styling is the work of Richard Kim, the man who led the design team for both the BMW i3 and the i8 and went on to play a key role as chief designer at Faraday Future being leaving in 2017. Kim describes the Canoo as a vehicle that “people would actually need” and, unlike so many other vehicles from EV startups that are simply crossovers or sports cars, this one is all about maximizing interior space.

Also Read: Electric Startup Canoo Wants To Launch Four EVs

Virtually the entire cabin is covered with glass and the van’s front and rear fascias are almost identical to each other. We can’t imagine it winning any beauty pageants, but it sure looks practical. Inside, there is a curved bench seat that wraps around the rear to make for an intriguing communal space, and at the front there are two more traditional seats that can spin around to face rear passengers.

Canoo says the van will be built with all the necessary hardware for fully autonomous driving, though the vehicle pictured here does feature a steering wheel (albeit a square one) poking out of the dash as well as brake and accelerator pedals.

Underpinning the vehicle is a modular platform that will be used by at least two other models. The van features a single, rear-mounted electric motor delivering 300 HP and an 80 kWh battery pack that’s good for a range of 250 miles (402 km).