Tevva, ElectricaMeccanica End Partnership
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Plans to build a hybrid electric and hydrogen-powered Class 8 truck in Arizona floundered in recent days as startup merger partners Tevva Motors Ltd. and ElectraMeccanica Vehicles Corp. parted ways.
Burnaby, British Columbia-based ElectraMeccanica owns a 235,000-square-foot facility in Mesa, Ariz., where CEO Susan Docherty in September told Transport Topics that serial production of a 19-metric-ton or 41,888-pound truck would commence in 2027.
The proposed vehicle was expected to be based on a 7.5-ton truck that U.K.-headquartered Tevva manufactures.
But ElectraMeccanica stepped away from the partnership, citing “multiple incurable breaches” of the companies’ merger agreement by Tevva, including failing to disclose material information.
Visit to @BritTipp by @TarmacLtd checking on the progress of their tipper body specification on the Tevva 7.5t Battery Electric Truck soon to be deployed. #Tarmac120 #NetZero pic.twitter.com/iFWXlAjMMZ — Tevva Hydrogen Electric Trucks (@TevvaTrucks) October 18, 2023
ElectraMeccanica promised Oct. 4 to seek legal recourse as a result of the alleged breaches and wants $6 million lent to Tevva plus any interest repaid by Jan. 2.
Tevva on Oct. 23 responded publicly for the first time, saying the company was “deeply disappointed by this abrupt decision and had no opportunity to respond to ElectraMeccanica’s claims before they went public.”
Tilbury, England-based Tevva added that it “gave full and open access at every point in the process to ElectraMeccanica’s advisers and management, with full financial due diligence prior to signing the definitive agreement.”
Senior members of the ElectraMeccanica executive team spent many weeks at Tevva’s UK facility, the company added.
Docherty
Tevva promised on Oct. 23 that more details would be revealed in the coming days. Also, lawyers had been retained for redress as it “strongly refutes the basis under which the planned merger was terminated.”
In the meantime, Tevva said it was looking for new partners to provide funding for serial production of the company’s existing battery-electric truck.
ElectraMeccanica also is hunting for new partners. In an Oct. 12 letter to shareholders, Docherty said a number of companies already had reached out to ElectraMeccanica about partnerships, including some it held talks with before the short-lived merger with Tevva was unveiled.
“While it will take more time than a week to define and commit fully to a new path, ElectraMeccanica’s board and management team do have a plan for moving forward,” Docherty wrote in the letter.
“The Tevva combination wasn’t ElectraMeccanica’s only merger opportunity. During the first and second quarters, we evaluated roughly 100 companies and had exploratory talks with nearly a dozen,” she said.
We’re sorry to say we are discontinuing SOLO G2 and G3. Customers will be contacted directly but if you have any questions, please visit https://t.co/d5yRyyIwWD or send us an email at recalls@electrameccanica.com pic.twitter.com/UVNdbIsYiL — ElectraMeccanica (@ElectraMecc) April 14, 2023
ElectraMeccanica teamed up with Tevva after the Canadian company’s original electric vehicle plans went awry. Previously, ElectraMeccanica focused on a one-seat, two-door, three-wheel electric micromobility vehicle — the Solo.
However, in February, ElectraMeccanica had to withdraw the Solo because of a power propulsion issue, and by April, when it could not resolve the battery problem, the company had to buy back all its vehicles.
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ElectraMeccanica pivoted to teaming up with Tevva on trucks. Deliveries of Tevva’s existing BET began earlier this year in the U.K., and the larger model was expected to have three hydrogen tanks to extend the vehicle’s range.
Before the launch of the 19-ton truck in the U.S., the partners — who on Aug. 15 unveiled their plans to merge — expected to begin deliveries in the U.K. and continental Europe in late 2026, Docherty told TT in September.
