It's abundantly clear that Bollinger Motors is not all about mass production or changing the world. Instead, the startup electric truck maker is planning to build its minimalistic, all-electric, off-road vehicles in small batches. Nonetheless, the company's B1 sport utility truck and B2 pickup truck are coming soon.
We are well aware that this type of situation doesn't actually appeal to our audience, since it's not going to rock the boat, so to speak. However, we give credit to any new company that's willing to put it all out there — with the clear and present potential for losing money — in order to promote EVs.
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Perhaps CEO Robert Bollinger's choice of small batches at a $125,000 price point may make him a few bucks, but we really doubt it. This type of business model requires a massive undertaking and an incredible investment, which will likely result in minimal sales and little profit.
With that being said, our good friend Sean Mitchell — who spends his spare time researching everything there is to know and learn about electric cars — dives into it for us. Moreover, he proposes some good questions, like "How many vehicles do they need to sell in order to make the vehicles profitable?" and "Do they have plans to make less expensive vehicles?"
Video Description via Sean Mitchell (AllThingsEV) on YouTube:
Bollinger’s $125K Handbuilt Off-road EVs
Handmade in Detroit
120 kWh battery
200 mile range
614 Horsepower
668 lb-ft torque8’2” bed length if cab wall is open and rear seats are removed, 5’9” cab wall closed
10 110v outlets with an option for a 220v for high power uses
Water fording depth of 36” or 3 feet
Customizable vehicle
Modular: removable glass roof panels, windows, doors, windshield
Two permanent magnet motors that allow shifting between high and low range with a true-neutral for flat towing
On the off-road side it has locking diffs, inboard breaks, a portal gear hub, high range gear ratio of 11.4:1 and a low range of 22.5:1, and a digital transfer case being managed hundreds of times per second.
Hydraulic pump
Hydropnuematic suspension that allows for a standard 15” ground clearance and can be raised or lowered 5”
Digitally controlled sway bars
Steering and break assist
My thoughts:
It’s expensive but if you’ve got $125K to spend on the Bollinger it’s probably not your primary driver anyway.
That being said, they are really great looking EVs that are fully off-road capable.
Here are some questions I have:
How many vehicles do they need to sell in order to make the vehicles profitable?
Do they have plans to make less expensive vehicles?
