Canoo Inc., an electric vehicle maker with operations in Bentonville and plans to place its headquarters there, said Wednesday that it has reached an agreement to sell its vehicles in Saudi Arabia.
The first phase of deal with GCC Olayan -- a subsidiary of Olayan Saudi Holding Company -- is for the sale, distribution, service maintenance, and repair of Canoo vehicles, according to a release. The deal also includes plans to develop a network for repair, local assembly and manufacture of Canoo vehicles.
"The Olayan Group is a global business leader with decades of experience in distribution partnerships with some of the world's leading brands and they are a proven partner to support EVs in the region," Tony Aquila, chairman & chief executive officer at Canoo, said in a statement.
During a conference call in November with analysts, Aquila said the company had more than $2 billion in its order pipeline for companies including Walmart, Utah-based van provider Kingbee and Los Angeles-based Zeeba. Initial construction of the vehicles is being handled by a third party with an expected shift of production in the first half of this year to Canoo's new Oklahoma City factory.
Shares of Canoo closed at $1.25, down 2 cents, or a bit more than 1%, in trading Wednesday on the Nasdaq.