Electric van startup Canoo has one of the more interesting-looking electric vehicles out there, though the company has been slow to roll the project out to customers. So far we’ve seen one in NASA use and we learned earlier this year that Canoo would supply six vans to the United States Postal Service in a trial. We’ve got our first look at the van and it looks a little different than expected.
These photos come courtesy of Mailgoose, who posted these photos in the USPS subreddit, stating that the “Canoo just touched down in ATL.”
Unlike the vehicle used by NASA, this is the LDV90 platform, which replaces the passenger cabin with a long cargo area, similar in concept to Brightdrop’s Zevo 600 EV van. Here’s what Canoo said at the time about their USPS deal:
Canoo is honored to participate as one of the potential suppliers in the groundbreaking electrification and modernization of the U.S. Postal Service’s delivery fleet as announced by the USPS on January 22, 2024. This effort is part of the USPS’s $40 billion investment strategy to upgrade and improve the organization’s processing, transportation, and delivery networks.
The vehicles for USPS will leverage Canoo’s patented technologies to deliver enhanced functionality, safety, and ergonomics.
As we know, the USPS takes these things quite seriously and should give the van a serious evaluation.
Given that these vans stay in generally geographically compact areas, an EV makes a lot more sense than, say, a Metris. BTW, here’s what the original was supposed to look like:
And here’s what it actually looks like:
From the left side, it looks quite familiar, sporting the same basic paint scheme (albeit stopping before the headlight) and greenhouse. The main difference is the steel wheels aren’t there and, instead, the van uses the nicer wheels shown on the render of the regular van (above).
But on the right-side, it’s a lot more obvious. There’s an extra window! It’s one of those shielded windows like you sometimes see on delivery vehicles and sports a little grate. This is an interesting addition and I wonder if it was added after the fact by a designer. It’s definitely a nice way to let in a lot of natural light while still maintaining the general feel of a delivery vehicle.
It was reported by TechCrunch earlier this year that the company spent twice its annual revenue on the CEO’s private jet last year, but it looks like the company’s got at least six deliveries this year so that’s something.
What do you think of it?
Aesthetically, the stripes as the beltline just under the windows visually works better. This is my only observation.
anything is better than a metris but this looks like garbage too.
almost everybody in my office is fighting to keep their LLV.
You don’t want a heated seat?
Give it enough time and heat it will eventually.
“the steel wheels aren’t there and, instead, the van uses the nicer wheels shown on the render of the regular van”?
What could be nicer than steel wheels? Well oiled mohagany?
Steel is resilient and repairable – what’s there not to like? The looks? Slap some covers and you’re done, it even adds to the aero without eating tyres in the process!
I know, Matt was way off base in this article the steelies were better.
I can’t imagine that Aero even matters for a postal vehicle. Average LLV speed is under 14 mph.
True, but I wasn’t being entirely serious, it just loves me some honest steelies 🙂
Steelies are durable and cheap to replace. Perhaps the alloys are just for prototype purposes.