Meet Canoo, The Electric Vehicle Startup Building Its First Facility In Pryor

Canoo is a startup manufacturer from Los Angeles. The company said they have a unique design for a lightweight, affordable, and versatile electric car.

Thursday, June 17th 2021, 9:18 pm

By: Jordan Tidwell

PRYOR, Oklahoma -

An electric car startup out of California, Canoo, said it's picked Pryor to build its first ever manufacturing facility.

The company said it will be at MidAmerica Industrial Park in Pryor and bring 2,000 jobs to the state.

Governor Kevin Stitt said Oklahoma competed with five other states to get Canoo, and this company is the future of electric cars.

"The innovation that you are bringing to the automotive industry, Oklahoma is just excited to be a part of it," Stitt said.

Canoo is a startup manufacturer from Los Angeles. The company said they have a unique design for a lightweight, affordable, and versatile electric car.

Ronald Petty is an assistant professor of Marketing at Northeastern State University and said it's an exciting announcement for the state but could be a long road to success for the company.

"Usually, you want to enter where there's less competition if you are a startup, if you don’t have a brand name, it's kind of hard to enter as a luxury product," Petty said.

Petty said a large part of a startup is getting brand recognition and getting awareness for your product. He said it could take five to ten years before the company could turn a profit.

"All of these startup costs are going to hit you before you even have a sale, and then once you start selling it, you have to sell it at a profit," he said.

The company is confident they can get the money to build the factory.

Governor Kevin Stitt said this is great for Oklahoma.

"We are committed to make you the next Henry Ford of EVV Vehicles, alright," Stitt said.

The company hopes to start production on the cars in Pryor in 2023.