Canoo Delivers EV Pickup For US Army

Canoo has been on a roll in the last couple of months ever since it garnered support from Walmart. Now, the electric car maker which is also behind the platform that Hyundai has developed for electric vehicles is delivering its vehicles to the US military. Canoo, of course, is not the first electric car maker, as GM was also selected by the defence innovation unit (DUI) to develop battery packs that can power military electric vehicles.

The US Army had tapped Canoo to supply electric cars for analysis and demonstration in July. This partnership is part of the new climate strategy it released in February. Canoo has delivered the light tactical vehicle (LTV).

“The LTV is another milestone proving the power of our technology and how it can be used, even in tactical situations,” said Tony Aquila, the CEO of Canoo.

This car comes with 600 bhp of power and an all-wheel-drive system which gets a unique suspension for off-road driving, raised ride height, and 32-wheel all-terrain tyres.

Joining hands with Canoo makes sense for the US military as it is the largest institutional consumer of petroleum products in the world. In 2019, it was reported that $9 billion was spent on just fuel by the US military. Shortage of fuel also makes vehicles vulnerable to attack as witnessed during the Afghanistan and Iraq wars where one in eight casualties were due to protecting convoys.

Electric vehicles are better than traditional ICE-based vehicles in such situations as witnessed in the Ukraine war when a Russian convoy was stuck after a fuel logistics mishap. Ukrainian troops took advantage of this situation as its snipers used tactical electric bikes to silently sneak into their target area and engage the enemy and quickly flee.