Canoo opens waitlist for subscription-only EV

Canoo, (formerly Evoloczity), has announced the opening of the waitlist for their subscription-only, 7-seater, electric vehicle. Being put on the waitlist is open to everybody and free to join, though the initial market appears focussed on the L.A. area.

The first vehicle to be offered via subscription was presented in September of last year. A seven-seater electric vehicle that rethinks the design of personal passenger transport. Something like a pod, or shuttle bus, the car is made in “loft design”.

The Californian electric vehicle startup includes several former German car industry managers who started Canoo to innovate with a completely different model of personal vehicle use in the USA. After more than a little startup turmoil, the company has streaked forward to start The First Wave. Who else but the Californians would call a waitlist The First Wave? While access to the waitlist is free and open to everyone, the company reminds potential customers that “By participating in the Waitlist you are not ordering a Vehicle or signing up for a Canoo membership.”

While the waitlist is open to everybody, which of these expressions of interest will turn into Canoo membership subscriptions depends on the customer’s application details. Not unimportant in this regard, is a customer’s location.

It seems that initially, the first subscriptions will be likely be offered to those living in Los Angeles, the company’s base and those hailing from elsewhere will probably just be giving the company an idea of which new markets to extend after that. In their Terms and Conditions, the company states: “Vehicle availability through a Canoo membership will be limited to select markets, currently expected to begin with Los Angeles, California. If you are not located in one of our first launch city(s), we will keep your name on the Waitlist for such time as when access to a Vehicle through membership is made available in your market.”

Individuals who join The First Wave will have the opportunity to improve their position on the waitlist. The company explains that “points are accumulated based on successful referrals to the waitlist as well as the completion of surveys”. More points will push you further up the list.

The Californian company has still not yet revealed how high the subsequent subscription costs will be. In their terms for the waitlist, the company only states that they will “notify members of the Waitlist via email.”

With seven seats and a subscription model, one might think the vehicle is ideally suited to vehicle sharing services. In their terms, Canoo merely states that: “If you plan to use access to your Vehicle through your membership for anything other than personal use (e.g., for rideshare or sharing with multiple persons), additional terms and restrictions will apply.”

Once the company has gaged interested and collected interested customers, they have the challenge of realising their innovative subscription model. Time shall tell if the Canoo membership really will bring the “convenience and affordability of a Netflix movie service to the auto industry”. It sounds pretty good so far.

Source: press release via email