EV makers AYRO, Karma team up to manufacture delivery vehicles
29/09/2020 13:00
By Jane Lanhee Lee
OAKLAND, Calif, Sept 29 (Reuters) - AYRO Inc AYRO.O , a
maker of low-speed electric vehicles (EVs) used on college
campuses and resorts, on Tuesday said it will work with EV maker
Karma Automotive LLC to produce over 20,000 electric delivery
vehicles through 2023.
Karma is a U.S. subsidiary of one of China's biggest auto
parts manufacturers, Wangxiang Group, which created the firm
after buying the assets of defunct startup Fisker Automotive.
The contract is valued at over $300 million and Karma will
help design, engineer and manufacture the vehicles in its
southern California factory near Los Angeles, the firms said in
a joint statement.
The deal comes as delivery fleet operators face regulatory
pressure in California and other states to buy electric
vehicles, while coronavirus lockdowns have led to a surge in
package and restaurant deliveries. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2FZ1AZ
AYRO Chief Executive Officer Rod Keller said restaurants
increasingly need their own EV delivery fleets as more sales are
made via deliveries through firms such as DoorDash, GrubHub Inc
GRUB.N , Uber Eats from Uber Technologies Inc UBER.N .
"Restaurants are concerned about losing control of the
experience and about the margin impact," Keller said.
Austin, Texas-based AYRO has an advisory council that
includes restaurant chains Panera Bread Company, Jimmy John's
and Firrhouse Subs to advise on what they would like to see in
the configuration of delivery vehicles, Keller said.
Reuters was not immediately able to reach the restaurant
chains for comment.
(Reporting by Jane Lanhee Lee; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
((jane.lee@thomsonreuters.com; +1-415-344-3912; Reuters
Messaging: jane.lee.thomsonreuters@reuters.net))