Bollinger Motors Becomes Latest Troubled EV Startup

Bollinger Motors, now defaulting on loans, appears to have found itself in a worsening financial situation. The company has been placed into receivership by a federal judge after founder Robert Bollinger sued Mullen Technologies — the startup’s current owner — over a breach in terms pertaining to a $10 million loan he issued in 2024.

It’s an odd situation. Founder and ex-CEO Robert Bollinger abandoned his role as chief executive last summer but stuck around to remain on the board. Meanwhile, Mullen Technologies purchased a controlling interest in Bollinger Motors in September of 2022 for $148 million. Based in California, Mullen is probably best known for its rebadged Chinese EVs and purchasing the now-defunct Electric Last Mile Solutions.

In October of 2024, Mullen announced that Mr. Bollinger had provided the company with $10 million in "non-dilutive debt financing to support Bollinger Motors’ production ramp-up and sale of Class 4 all-electric trucks." However, he has since taken legal action and stated that he is owed at least that much per the terms of the loan agreement.

According to Automotive News, the company’s founder isn’t the only one making such claims. Bollinger has confirmed that the company is presently facing litigation from at least two of its suppliers and was placed into receivership earlier this month over the situation with Mr. Bollinger. It also seems to be carrying around a sizable amount of credit card debt (upward of $500,000) that it hasn’t managed to repay. Based on how the above has worked out for brands like Faraday Future and Nikola, this does not bode well for the company’s long-term prospects.

Bollinger’s attempt to field new EVs has arguably lacked focus from the start. Formed in New York in 2014, the company later moved to Michigan to build rugged electric pickups and SUVs (receiving $3 million from state taxpayers in the process). Production was planned for 2021, with the option to sell the vehicles in a chassis cab configuration. However, Bollinger announced in 2022 that it would be pivoting away from passenger vehicles so it could focus entirely on fleet sales and subsequently refunded orders on the then-delayed original designs.

Due to the fact that the company had intentionally designed the initial models as Class 3 vehicles before announcing the chassis cab alternative, it was assumed that it was attempting to avoid regulatory hurdles pertaining to light passenger vehicles. In the months following the Mullen acquisition, Bollinger previewed a Class 4 electric truck (named the B4) and reiterated its focus on commercial work vehicles. But there was still a lot of speculation that the cancelled B1 and B2 passenger models could someday return.

The chances of Bollinger continuing production appear slim and the brand has only manufactured about 40 examples of the Class 4 truck. However, it’s unclear whether any of those have been adopted into commercial fleets. With its assets effectively frozen, Bollinger Motors now seems poised for liquidation.

While it’s not clear whether electric-focused automotive startups have become a convenient method of shifting vast amounts of cash, or if industry regulations have simply made it borderline impossible for new automakers to do business, a case could probably be made for both scenarios. Bollinger is on the cusp of joining a long list of brands that went under after questionable financial decisions. Aptera, Bright Automotive, Canoo, Coda Automotive, Detroit Electric, Electric Last Mile Solutions, Fisker Automotive, Lightning Car Company, Lordstown Motors, LeEco, Faraday Future, Proterra, and Nikola have all either gone under or confronted massive setbacks after confronting sustained money problems.

There have been a handful of Chinese EV startups that succeeded where their competitors failed. But Western examples are few and far between with Tesla being the only brand to truly thrive.

Our guess is that Bollinger leadership saw fleet sales as a way to maximize the benefits of government-backed EV incentives while likewise avoiding some regulatory obstacles. Legacy manufacturers had also started fielding all-electric trucks of their own by the time Bollinger was prepping its passenger models, with the resulting sales being anything but encouraging. Although, it likewise needs to be said that the fleet-focused B4's payload and range really only makes it useful in predominantly urban areas or highly localized routes.

But not all hope is lost, as even the financially aggrieved founder still has faith in the brand.

“Mullen did an amazing job of funding us and getting us to where we are,” Mr. Bollinger stated. “There’s a lot of interest in the product, and the best possible outcome is for the company to continue as it is.”

The founder has likewise made assurances that he will continue to help with financing the business after the lawsuit, including guaranteeing that Bollinger employees will be paid. While good news for the startup’s staff, it’s still difficult to envision the company persisting without a sizable investment or another entity buying up its assets should fresh capital fail to manifest.

[Images: Bollinger Motors]

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