The Canadian electric bus and truck maker is in receivership following a court order after it failed to repay its loans

Vicinity Motor, a British Columbia-based manufacturer of electric buses and trucks, is in receivership.

The move was triggered last month as the result of a court order following Vicinity’s failure to repay its loans. Vicinity owes loans in excess of $22 million to the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC). It’s entire board and several of the senior management team have resigned and the company has been delisted on NASDAQ.

The news underscores that it’s been a difficult year for many companies in the electric vehicle manufacturing sector.

Vicinity’s receivership comes on the heels of Lightning eMotors declaring bankruptcy at the end of 2023. Proterra followed suit this past spring and off-road EV manufacturer, Taiga, this summer.

Ripple effect

Export Development Canada (EDC) has also been drawn into the receivership saga as the guarantors of Vicinity’s debt to RBC up to US$22.5 million.

And what does this mean for Vicinity customers?

The automaker has at least 500 electric vehicles on the road in Canada and the U.S., according to a statement from its VP of sales, John LaGourgue, in 2020.

However, in 2022, Vicinity received a US$100 million order for 1,000 Class 3 electric trucks in Canada. Deliveries were to begin immediately, but it’s not known how many were successfully completed.

In its 2023 annual earnings, Vicinity declared a $125 million order backlog and had invoiced for 71 vehicles that year.

It’s unclear at this time how Vicinity’s customers will be impacted — both those who received their vehicles and require ongoing parts and maintenance support and those still waiting to receive their order.

Electric Autonomy reached out to Vicinity Motors to request comment and information for their customers, but received no response.