In a blow to those looking for a utilitarian off-road/heavy-duty work vehicle, Robert Bollinger (CEO and founder of Bollinger Motors) announced this weekend that the company was postponing further development of the B1 and B2 ute and SUV.
In development since 2015, many people the world over have been watching the development of what looked to become the EV replacement to the ubiquitous 4WD Land Rover.
Instead, Bollinger are pivoting to build US ‘Class 3 through 6’ commercial trucks. (4.5 tonne to around 11.8 tonne). Class 3 by the way include vehicles such as the Ford F-250 and 350, while Class 4 would include the F450 and the RAM 4500.
Interestingly, Class 6 includes the US school bus – a vehicle type where a particularly strong push is being made to electrify the US fleet of nearly half a million – including a recent targeted US federal government scrappage scheme of US$300,000 to replace old diesel buses with new electric buses.
If Bollinger can crack that market – that would be a sizeable fleet to get a slice of!
Bollinger further confirmed that all reservation deposits on B1 or B2 vehicles are being refunded as they have no definitive time line for the resumption of B1 and B2 development. (Note that Bollinger make the point in their announcement that this is a ‘development postponement’ and they do intend at some stage to resume the B1 and 2 program).
