Bollinger Ditches Customer Cars To Focus On Commercial

The past couple of years saw a craze in the electric vehicle industry as numerous startups mounted an assault on the Tesla Cybertruck. Rivian announced its R1T and R1S, each of which we've seen in the metal long before the Tesla, while legacy automaker General Motors has also set plans in motion to bring the GMC Hummer EV to life. We also got to know of Bollinger, a company with clever innovations including new battery technology. Its designs are a little bland, but the vehicles promise to make up for that in other ways, and we've been eager to see if they live up to the hype.

Unfortunately, the wait is not over and won't be for some time as Bollinger Motors has announced "a postponement to its consumer-truck production and delivery, while the company focuses its efforts on commercial business."

On learning this news, CarBuzz spoke with Bollinger founder and CEO Robert Bollinger to better understand the situation and the reasoning for the newfound commercial focus. We started by asking why the commercial side of the company is a better focus than its consumer trucks. "The B1 and B2 would have required a good deal more development and investment before heading into production," answers the CEO. "When we released images of our EV chassis in 2019 it resulted in a lot of incoming inquiries for fleet solutions. That got our attention, and we started putting our expertise from the Class 3 segment into making fleet-ready electric platforms. Since 2020, we have been steadily shifting more effort toward the commercial side of the business.

"The move to concentrate on commercial development will enable us to grow, hire more people, develop our technology, and finalize our battery packs, which we've developed in-house. This focus is better for the company and we'll have announcements throughout the year on our progress."

This all sounds reasonable, but when asked who the commercial customers are and if they've made any commitments, Bollinger stated that its agreements dictate that the company "can't disclose specifics, but the types of potential customers are household names that include delivery companies, utility companies, municipalities, and more."

We assume that more info will be released once these commercial vehicles edge closer to production, at which point we hope to learn who will use Bollinger's products.

But what about you and me, the everyday buyer? Are the B1 and B2 officially dead or can we expect to see them again, and if so, when?

"The B1 and B2 are dear to my heart," says Bollinger. "Right now, we're focusing completely on commercial, but never say never. It'd be wonderful if all our hard work, now spent on commercial business, could eventually bring back the B1 and B2, but there's no timeline for that."

In essence, don't withhold your order for a new Rivian if you were hoping to test the Bollinger offerings first - they may never arrive.