End of StreetScooter production in Germany

At the beginning of this year, StreetScooter inventor Günther Schuh and his company e.Volution bought back the rights to the electric transporter. The company also signed a strategic partnership with Neapco, the contract manufacturer of the electric delivery vehicles. As a result, production of the electric vans in Düren was supposed to start up again – but it is now clear that the site cannot be retained. Production at the Düren site has been at a standstill since the beginning of July.

Instead, the StreetScooter will be built in Thailand from 2025. This was confirmed by e.Volution to various media outlets. “We have to abandon the adventure of trying to keep Streetscooter in Germany,” Schuh told the Aachener Zeitung. According to Schuh, the move to Thailand will bring on board an investor, offer favourable production conditions and thus offer the opportunity to market the German-developed electric vehicle internationally.

According to the German newspaper, Schuh will set up a 50:50 joint venture with the Thai investor, and the Streetscooter could soon roll off the production line near Bangkok. The timeline has yet to be communicated, and the exact investment is also unknown. However, according to German media, it involves eight-figure commitments from Asia.

The previous owner B-ON had filed for insolvency in September 2023 in Germany, citing delivery bottlenecks and quality problems with components that led to a decline in production of the Sherpa, formally known as Streetscooter. Schuh says that he invested millions of his own money to help the company come back from insolvency. However, cheap vehicles from competitors and potential subsidies (in Germany) that would require the manufacturer to pay its part are like fighting windmills.

“I wanted to show that we in NRW are still pioneers for sustainability and new mobility. But I can no longer win the battle here because it’s not affordable here,” Schuh told the Aachener Zeitung.

Around 200 jobs will be affected by the relocation of production abroad. The reason for the decision is said to be a failed negotiation with a potential German customer. In Thailand, on the other hand, there is an investor, favourable production conditions and therefore, according to Schuh, the opportunity to market the electric vehicle developed in Aachen internationally.

The Neapco works council believes that the end of the StreetScooter will jeopardise the entire plant with its more than 500 employees in the medium term.

wdr.de, aachener-zeitung.de (all in German)