10-K
Table of Contents
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM
10-K
For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021
or
For the transition period from __________to_________
Commission file number:
001-38078
ENVIROTECH VEHICLES, INC.
(Name of registrant as specified in its charter)
1425 Ohlendorf Road
Osceola, AR72370
(Address of principal executive offices, including zip code)
Registrant’s telephone number including area code: (951)
407-9860
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Common Stock, $0.00001 par value OTC Markets Group Inc.
Title of class Name of exchange on which registered
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☐ No ☒
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☐ No ☒
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation
S-T
(§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a
non-accelerated
filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule
12b-2
of the Exchange Act.
Large accelerated filer ☐ Accelerated filer ☐
Non-accelerated filer ☒ Smaller reporting company ☒
Emerging growth company ☒
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☒
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☐
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule
12b-2
of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐ No
☒
The aggregate market value of the common stock held by
non-affiliates
of the registrant, based on the closing price reported by the OTC Markets Group Inc. on June 30, 2021 was approximately $56.4 million.
As of April 8, 2022, 299,929,841 shares of the registrant’s common stock were issued and outstanding.
DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
The information that is required to be included in Part III of this Annual Report on
Form 10-K
is incorporated by reference to either a definitive proxy statement or an amendment to this Annual Report on
Form 10-K
to be filed by the registrant within 135 days of December 31, 2021. Only those portions of any such definitive proxy statement that are specifically incorporated by reference herein shall constitute a part of this Annual Report on
Form 10-K.
Table of Contents
ENVIROTECH VEHICLES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
PART I
Item 1. Business 2
Item 1A. Risk Factors 20
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments 46
Item 2. Properties 46
Item 3. Legal Proceedings 46
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures 49
PART II
Item 6. [Reserved] 51
Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk 60
Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data 62
Item 9A. Controls and Procedures 87
Item 9B. Other Information 88
PART III
Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance 89
Item 11. Executive Compensation 96
Item 14. Principal Accounting Fees and Services 105
PART IV
Item15. Financial Statement Schedules 107
Table of Contents
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This Annual Report on Form
10-K
(“Annual Report”), contains “forward-looking statements” that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements relate to expectations, beliefs, projections, future plans and strategies, anticipated events or trends and similar matters that are not historical facts. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “should,” “will” and “would” or the negatives of these terms or other comparable terminology intended to identify statements about the future.
You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The cautionary statements set forth in this prospectus, including in “Risk Factors” and elsewhere, identify important factors, which you should consider in evaluating our forward-looking statements. These factors include, among other things, our:
• dependence upon external sources for the financing of our operations;
• ability to effectively execute our business plan;
• ability to obtain, retain and grow our customers;
• ability to achieve and sustain profitability;
• ability to evaluate and measure our current business and future prospects;
• ability to compete and succeed in a highly competitive and evolving industry;
• ability to respond and adapt to changes in electric vehicle technology; and
You should read this Annual Report and the documents that we reference elsewhere in this Annual Report completely and with the understanding that our actual results may differ materially from what we expect as expressed or implied by our forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, those discussed in more detail in Item 1 (Business) and Item 1A (Risk Factors) of Part I and Item 7 (Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations) of Part II of this Annual Report. In light of the significant risks and uncertainties to which our forward-looking statements are subject, you should not place undue reliance on or regard these statements as a representation or warranty by us or any other person that we will achieve our objectives and plans in any specified timeframe, or at all. These forward-looking statements represent our estimates and assumptions only as of the date of this Annual Report regardless of the time of delivery of this Annual Report. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise after the date of this Annual Report.
Unless expressly indicated or the context requires otherwise, references in this Annual Report to “Envirotech,” “the Company,” “we,” “our,” and “us” refer to Envirotech Vehicles, Inc. a Delaware Corporation, and our predecessor, ADOMANI, Inc., a Delaware corporation, and Envirotech Drive Systems, Inc., a Delaware corporation, and where appropriate, their respective consolidated subsidiaries, unless the context indicates otherwise.
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Part I
Item 1. BUSINESS
Overview
We are a provider of purpose-built
zero-emission
electric vehicles focused on reducing the total cost of vehicle ownership and helping fleet operators unlock the benefits of green technology. We serve commercial and last-mile fleets, school districts, public and private transportation service companies and colleges and universities to meet the increasing demand for light to heavy-duty electric vehicles. Our vehicles address the challenges of traditional fuel price cost instability and local, state and federal environmental regulatory compliance.
Our vehicles are manufactured by outside, OEM partners located in China and Malaysia that can be marketed, sold, warrantied and serviced through our developing distribution and service network.
Our vehicles can include options for telemetrics for remote monitoring, electric power-export and various levels of grid-connectivity. Pending the completion of the transactions contemplated by our letter of intent to purchase certain battery manufacturing equipment from ProGreens New Energy Technology Co. Ltd., our
zero-emission
products may also grow to include automated charging infrastructure and “intelligent” stationary energy storage that enables fast vehicle charging, emergency
back-up
facility power, and access to the developing, grid-connected opportunities for the aggregate power available from groups of large battery packs.
For the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, our net losses were $7,652,100 and $279,521, respectively. On March 15, 2021, we completed our acquisition of EVTDS, a Delaware corporation, a supplier of
zero-emission
trucks, cargo vans, chassis and other commercial vehicles from which we have previously purchased vehicles designed to meet our specifications. The transaction was completed in accordance with the Merger Agreement, with EVTDS and EVT Acquisition Company, Inc., a Delaware corporation and our wholly owned subsidiary (“Merger Sub”). As a result of such transaction, Merger Sub was merged with and into EVTDS, with EVTDS surviving as our wholly owned subsidiary (the “Merger”). In accordance with the terms of the Merger Agreement, at the effective time of the Merger, each outstanding share of the common stock of EVTDS was automatically converted into the right to receive one share of the common stock of the Company. As a result of the Merger, we issued an aggregate of 142,558,001 shares of our common stock to the former EVTDS stockholders, which shares represented approximately 56% of the total issued and outstanding shares of our common stock as of immediately following the effective time of the Merger.
Our company was formerly known as ADOMANI, Inc. On May 26, 2021, we filed a Certificate of Amendment of our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware to change our company’s name from ADOMANI, Inc. to Envirotech Vehicles, Inc., effective as of May 26.
Market Overview
Concerns regarding climate change and other environmental considerations have led to the implementation of laws and regulations that restrict, cap, or tax, emissions in the automotive industry and throughout other industries. In particular, Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA, Tier 4 emission standards, CARB regulations, and recently implemented policies in Europe, generally referred to as Stage I, II, III, IV, V and VI regulations, require a significant reduction in the level of emissions and particulate matter produced by diesel power systems and are increasing the costs associated with producing carbon-intensive fuels. On June 28, 2018, China officially released the China VI emission standard for new heavy-duty vehicles, which is equivalent to, or in some respects even more stringent than, the Euro VI emission standard. The China VI standard intends to force diesel particulate filters on all new diesel heavy-duty vehicles introduced to the market after July 2021. If effectively implemented, it will transition all new heavy-duty vehicles in China to soot-free emission levels. In February 2018, the Mexican government announced a new policy that focused on reducing air pollution,
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improving public health and ultimately saving lives. This policy included the first soot-free standard adopted in Latin America, which required that all heavy-duty vehicles sold in Mexico meet the highest filter-based standards that are currently in place in other countries like the United States, Canada and much of the European Union. On June 25, 2020, the Board of CARB passed a
first-in-the-world
rule requiring truck manufacturers to transition from diesel trucks and cargo vans to electric
zero-emission
vehicles beginning in 2024. More recently, in December 2021, President Biden signed an executive order directing the federal government to minimize planet- heating emissions from operations and transition to an
all-electric
fleet of cars and trucks, with the stated goal of reducing its emissions by 65% by 2030 and reaching carbon neutrality by 2050.
These regulations are expected to increase both the cost and size of emission-compliant diesel power products, primarily due to the need to incorporate additional combustion and after-treatment components. A variety of market factors are contributing to the increased use of alternative fuels and growth of alternative fuel technology, including economics, energy independence, environmental concerns, and the widespread availability of alternative fuels. As the price of crude oil remains volatile and the threats of climate change and air pollution increase as public concerns, we believe the search for more cost effective and cleaner fuels has become more important. Electricity has emerged as a cleaner-fuel solution to these challenges. The price of alternative fuels such as electricity is often substantially less than diesel or gasoline, and alternative fuels can result in the production of lower amounts of greenhouse gases and other air pollutants. In addition, several public utilities in California and elsewhere have applied to their states’ PUCs for rate increases to be used for the purchase or leasing of electric vehicles and infrastructure. Additional requests have been made by the utilities to offer favorable costs for electric bus charging. In fact, the Invest in America Act being debated in Congress would allocate $1.75 billion to various government entities to support electric and other alternative-type chargers.
According to the IEA, the world’s fleet of electric vehicles grew 41% to about 7.2 million in 2019, and the IEA forecasts electric vehicles will grow from 7 million to 140 million by 2030, with government policy being the linchpin for electric vehicle adoption.
Based on the IEA’s view, we believe that existing policies will make China and Europe the biggest adopters. In China, the government has mandated that electric vehicles make up 40% of all auto sales by 2030. Meanwhile, we believe that tightening emissions standards and high fuel taxes in Europe will result in substantial increases in the market share of electric vehicles. New electric car sales in China grew by 47%, or by approximately 830,000 units, in 2019, which increased total ownership to over 2.5 million vehicles.
In the United States, 310,000 new electric vehicles were sold in the first half of 2021. In full year of 2020, approximately 322,000 were sold.
The overall market for electric vehicles consists of multiple, discrete markets for various vehicle types, including passenger cars, buses,
two-wheelers
and others. Passenger cars are the most prominent, but
two-wheelers
are far more prevalent, particularly in Asia, and buses and trucks, although smaller in number, are significantly higher in price and often purchased in bulk by major corporate customers or government or transit agencies. Because light duty passenger vehicles represent the largest potential market and have received the most attention from both analysts and policymakers, most global forecasts look at light duty electric vehicle sales.
Charging infrastructure is another important factor in electric vehicle adoption rates. As of December 2021, there were approximately 46,000 charging stations in the United States. GuideHouse Insights is projecting 25% CAGR globally in the number of charging stations now through 2030 and Bloomberg NEF projects that the need for charging stations will top 290 million by 2040, with a value of $500 billion worldwide. President Biden’s American Jobs Plan includes a transformational $15 billion investment to build a national network of 500,000 charging stations. Through a combination of grant and incentive programs for state and local governments and the private sector, it will support deployment of a mix of chargers in apartment buildings, in public parking, throughout communities, and as a robust fast charging along our nation’s roadways. Some geographic areas have considerably more charging stations than others, contributing to greater electric vehicle usage in those regions.
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Commercial Vehicles
As relatively simple as the pricing analysis is for individual consumers, the purchase and deployment of heavy-duty commercial vehicles involves consideration of many more variables. Here, the type of customer is a major determinant, whether it is a commercial customer buying trucks for a fleet, a school district, or a municipal entity purchasing buses for public use.
Bloomberg New Energy Finance forecasts that electric passenger vehicle sales will rise from around 3.2 million units in 2020 to comprise 10% of passenger vehicle sales or 6.9 million units in 2025, and to 28% of vehicles sold or 26 million vehicles by 2030. This growth should support the expansion of the passenger electric vehicle fleet from around 7 million vehicles today, or 0.6% of the total fleet, to around 350 million vehicles or 23% of the global passenger fleet by 2030. Major drivers include improving battery costs, strong government support for the superior environmental footprint, stricter fuel economy standards for conventional vehicles, rapidly approaching price parity for electric vehicles, and shifting consumer preferences.
Environmental Benefits
Because heavy-duty commercial vehicles consume considerably more fuel than light duty passenger vehicles, the environmental benefits of replacing conventionally fueled commercial vehicles with electric vehicles can also be substantial. Whereas an electric passenger car may reduce green house gas (“GHG”) emissions by 3 tons per year as compared to a conventional car, replacing a conventional Class 8 port drayage truck with an electric equivalent can bring an 18 metric ton annual reduction in GHG emissions. Replacing a conventional diesel bus with an
all-electric
bus can achieve a 78 metric ton (approximately 171,961 pounds) reduction in GHG emissions. Electric buses can also reduce nitrous oxide emissions by 47 kg (approximately 104 pounds) per year compared to a diesel bus and 19 kg (approximately 42 pounds) compared to a clean natural gas (“CNG”) bus. As discussed below, we believe these pollution reductions have had the greatest impact in the electric bus market, where municipalities are the principal purchasers.
A
first-of-kind,
comprehensive study was released in December 2019 assessing the environmental benefits and economics of various alternative fuel truck technologies. The study, conducted by the international research firm (“ICF”), demonstrates that electric trucks and buses are a
triple-win
in terms of helping meet California’s climate and air quality targets; the least cost to own and operate across nearly all truck and bus classes by 2030, and provide the greatest job and economic benefits to the state. The study was commissioned by NRDC and the California Electric Transportation Coalition (an industry group representing utilities and vehicle manufacturers) and was sponsored by the Union of Concerned Scientists, Earthjustice, BYD, Ceres, and NextGen Climate America. Advisory support was provided by East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice and University of California, Davis. The study concluded that expected declines in the costs of battery packs, and therefore the cost of electric trucks and buses, will decline such that by 2030, they will be the most attractive technology from a total cost of ownership perspective for nearly all truck and bus classes, even without incentives.
Electricity Cost Considerations
Despite the higher electricity consumption of electric trucks, more widespread adoption could lead to more efficient utilization of utility and power generation assets and thus not necessarily lead to higher rates. At this point, deployment of electric trucks and buses is still too small to assess their full impact on electricity prices. As a study by the clean transportation nonprofit CALSTART emphasizes, evaluating this impact will involve weighing potential efficiency benefits, the impact on utility distribution grids, including the cost of potential upgrades, and the need for additional infrastructure. In this regard, several public utilities have applied to their state’s Public Utility Commissions (“PUCs”) for rate increases to be used for the purchase or leasing of electric vehicles and infrastructure. Additional requests have been made by the utilities to offer favorable costs for electric school bus charging.
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Trucks
Some of the main markets for electric trucks include delivery vans, shuttle buses, and utility or work trucks, each of which has its own set of challenges. Where PHEVs
(Plug-In
Hybrid Electric Vehicle) have greater operational flexibility, and require less charging infrastructure, BEVs (Battery Electric Vehicle) can be either short range, which can charge quickly and operate with limited interruption, or long range, requiring longer charging times but more intraday operational flexibility.
Because of charging needs and restrictions, we believe short-haul fleet vehicles that operate in a limited geographic area and return to central locations, such as delivery vans and shuttle buses, are the best candidates for electrification.
Transit Buses
Some public transportation operators are facing pressure to purchase and operate
low-emissions
vehicles. For public entities, cleaner transportation systems can provide benefits beyond reduced operating costs, in the form of less pollution and lower abatement and cleanup costs. Electric transit buses are likely to have lower fuel and maintenance costs, typically a large cost area for transit operators, compared to conventional diesel buses. Electric buses generally have smoother, faster acceleration and provide a quieter ride, benefiting both passengers and the surrounding urban environment.
Similar to other commercial fleet electric vehicles, transit buses have a higher initial acquisition cost than their traditional-fueled counterparts, and the logistics of charging remains a challenge. Electric buses can be anywhere from two to nearly five times as expensive as conventional buses.
In addition to the public health and environmental benefits, school districts and transit agencies also see cost savings due to the reduced fuel and maintenance costs of electric buses. While electric transit buses cost approximately $200,000 more than diesel buses (depending on battery pack size) before incentives, lifetime fuel and maintenance savings of electric transit buses are around $400,000. While electric school buses cost around $120,000 more than diesel school buses before incentives, lifetime fuel and maintenance savings of electric school buses are around $170,000.
Electrification in the medium- and heavy-duty vehicle sector is increasing in the United States with California leading the way. Increasing investment in the sector from public and private sources, however, is expected to generate growth and significantly increase the number of electric trucks and buses on the road in the near term. Upfront costs associated with electric trucks and buses are expected to decline significantly through 2030 as battery prices fall, making them competitive on a total cost of ownership (TCO) basis.
School Buses
School buses present another significant potential market for electrification. The United States has approximately 480,000 school buses in service that are particularly suited to running solely on electricity. Traditional diesel school buses, which make up over half the total fleet, not only consume large amounts of fuel- more than 800 million gallons of diesel a year in the United States, at a fuel economy of only 4–5
mpg-but
also directly impact children with tailpipe emissions. In response, a number of states have included school buses in clean transportation mandates, and some school districts, notably in California and Illinois, have begun to replace diesel buses with electric. Incentive programs to help fund the purchase of electric school buses in the United States are significant.
Market Drivers
A number of factors, including the general world-wide desire to improve the health of people, impact both the supply and demand for various types of electric vehicles and we believe that we are well positioned to benefit as a result of these driving forces. Except for energy storage technologies, discussed earlier, subsequent sections will address these market drivers in greater detail.
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We believe prominent drivers of supply include:
We believe prominent drivers of demand include:
United States—Federal Laws and Incentives
There are numerous U.S. legislative efforts underway to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles. In January 2021, President Biden signed into effect the “Buy America” executive order, which among other objectives, will see a transition of the U.S. Government fleet to U.S.-manufactured electric vehicles, creating a large market opportunity for Class 3, 4 and 5 electric trucks. The order equates to approximately $25 billion in total value and will replace approximately 456,000 government vehicles with U.S. manufactured electric vehicles. The U.S. Department of Energy is also offering federal tax credits ranging in value from $2,500 to $7,500 for purchasers of qualified electric vehicles, with the size of the credit based on the battery size in the vehicle. Furthermore, federal tax credits are available for electric vehicle charging equipment, with homeowners eligible for a 30% tax credit and up to $1,000 depending on installation costs and commercial property owners eligible for a 30% tax credit and up to $30,000 depending on installation costs. These laws and incentives are rapidly accelerating the nationwide adoption of electric vehicles.
United States—State Laws and Incentives
Among U.S. states, California is notable for pioneering a number of measures that have encouraged electric vehicle production and adoption, and that have since been copied by other jurisdictions. These incentives like tax
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credits and rebates for both individual and fleet owners, HOV lane access, and various grant and loan programs. Besides setting the nation’s most stringent tailpipe emissions standards, California has required automakers to produce increasing percentages of
zero-emission
vehicles, of which electric vehicles make up a significant portion, along with creating a market that allows manufacturers to buy and sell credits awarded for selling electric vehicles. California, New York and New Jersey have also implemented voucher programs that significantly reduce the cost to purchase an electric vehicle in that state, with additional reductions to costs for businesses that meet criteria such as minority-, veteran-, or women- owned or being located in a
low-income
area. Furthermore, California and New York have introduced legislation to completely ban the sale of internal combustion engines and fossil fuel vehicles by 2035. The Governor of California has issued Executive Order
N-79-20,
which sets 2035 for a 100 percent ban on the sale of internal combustion engines for passenger cars and pickup trucks within California, with later target dates for similar bans on medium- and heavy-duty trucks. In New York, legislation has been passed banning new fossil fuel vehicle sales after 2034 and will require all new cars to produce zero emissions. See “—Governmental Programs and Incentives” for an additional discussion of certain relevant incentive programs.
Fleet Operator Challenges
Fleet operators and their companies face a number of challenges in the market today, including:
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Our Solution
We are a provider of purpose-built
zero-emission
electric vehicles focused on reducing the total cost of ownership. Our vehicles are manufactured by outside, OEM partners located in China, Malaysia and the Philippines and marketed, sold, warrantied and serviced through our developing distribution and service network. Our vehicles are designed to help fleet operators unlock the benefits of technology that reduces GHG, NOx, PM and other pollutants, as well as to address the challenges of local, state and federal regulatory compliance and traditional-fuel price cost instability. As of December 31, 2021, we had a backlog of 37
zero-emission
Class 4 trucks and 43
zero-emission
Class 4 cargo vans, which consists of unfilled firm orders for products under signed contracts with customers.
We seek to enable our customers to:
Development of the Business to Date
We have taken an active role in building awareness and support for our
zero-emission
electric vehicles and drivetrain systems in industry specific target groups and at all levels of government and regulatory agencies and the constituencies they serve. We initially accomplished this through our participation with Blue Bird Corporation (“Blue Bird”) in its United States Department of Energy (“DOE”) grant program to accelerate the adoption of advanced and alternative fuel vehicles. We have also maintained prior and current memberships in industry groups (private and governmental) and participate in their events, speaking engagements, management interviews, pilot product exhibits, fleet vehicle demonstrations and responses to requests for information and requests for proposals. We regularly engage with electric utility companies across the United States to build awareness of the medium to heavy-duty electric vehicles we currently offer and how their greater adoption could positively increase their customers’ electricity usage.
As discussed below under the section entitled “Other Agreements,” we have entered into a number of agreements with third parties and continue to explore additional alliances, and to establish our decentralized assembly, sales and service model. We believe we can preserve cash resources while scaling up quickly when demand requires by leveraging the unused or underutilized service technician time, specific vehicle type expertise and service facility equipment of specific partners in ways to
off-load
some defined tasks, providing seasonal demand adjustments to technician headcount that will partially mitigate the human resource costs and challenges associated with
scaling-up
or down an employee base.
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On March 15, 2021, we completed our acquisition of EVTDS, a supplier of
zero-emission
trucks, cargo vans, chassis and other commercial vehicles from which we have previously purchased vehicles designed to meet our specifications. The transaction was completed in accordance with the Merger Agreement, with EVTDS and EVT Acquisition Company, Inc., a Delaware corporation and our wholly owned subsidiary (“Merger Sub”). As a result of such transaction, Merger Sub was merged with and into EVTDS, with EVTDS surviving as our wholly owned subsidiary (the “Merger”). We believe that, as a result of the Merger, we possess one of the most comprehensive product lines in our industry, with multiple new products under development that we anticipate will help fuel our growth. In addition, the resulting combination of our operations with those of EVTDS, one of our suppliers, will enable us to eliminate a step in the sales process with respect to certain of our product offerings, which cost savings we expect will allow us to reduce the cost of such vehicles to our customers.
Our Strengths
We believe the following attributes and capabilities provide us with long-term competitive advantages:
Our Strategy
We intend to capitalize on these opportunities by pursuing the following key strategies:
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Our Customers
Our current primary focus is Class 3 to Class 5 trucks and cab and chassis, class 3 and 4 cargo vans and cutaways. Our target customers primarily include public and private fleet operators that have an interest in meeting or exceeding local, state and federal emission regulatory guidelines while saving money on fuel and maintenance costs over the lifecycle of their fleet vehicles and that also have an interest in tangible demonstrations of their
GHG-reducing
efforts. These targets include:
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• Student transportation contractors that serve public and private schools.
• Oil and gas companies with fleets of field trucks.
Our Products and Services
Our products and services primarily include purpose-built,
zero-emission
vehicles and chassis of all sizes manufactured by outside OEM partners, but to be marketed, sold, warrantied and serviced through our developing distribution and service network.
We engage OEMs to design and supply vehicles for us that meet our specifications. Following the closing of our acquisition of EVT, a manufacturer and a supplier of
zero-emission
trucks, cargo vans, chassis and other commercial vehicles in various sizes, we intend to utilize EVT’s existing supply chain and OEM partners to support our efforts to sell, warranty and supply
zero-emission
commercial vehicles through our developing distribution and service network.
In addition, our products and services may in the future include some or all of the following:
• Automated charging infrastructure for commercial fleet vehicles.
• “Intelligent” stationary energy storage that enables fast vehicle charging.
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Testing
Our suppliers are vetted before their products are accepted for use in our products. Our drivetrain systems and finished products are inspected, road-tested (when applicable) and receive quality control testing prior to delivery.
Customer Service, Support and Training
Our sales team has historically been used as the first point of customer contact for customer support and training. However, due to
COVID-19
impacts and other business challenges in 2020, we eliminated our
in-house
sales team in 2020. We are in the process of reestablishing our sales team by hiring sales personnel and other internal staff in 2022 to support our current and planned operations.
Technology
Zero-emission electric drivetrain systems for purpose-built new vehicles generally include the following: electric traction motor/generator of sufficient kW power for grade, speed, acceleration and efficiency requirements, a motor controller/inverter system that modulates electrical power flow between the battery packs and traction motor, a gear reduction system or multispeed transmission, systems to electrify power steering/ brakes, a VCU, high-voltage traction battery packs with integrated BMS, battery disconnect units, thermal management systems, vehicle charging hardware, electric HVAC systems, DC to DC inverter(s) to reduce traction battery pack voltage sufficient to operate
on-board,
low voltage systems, wiring harnesses, user/driver interface and remote diagnostic/tracking/fault code/data logging systems. Although clear industry power-export standards have not yet been adopted, systems and options for a variety of
vehicle-to-other
power management options (such as grid, building, stationary energy storage, etc.) are being developed by multiple vendors and their inclusion may be offered as additional cost options in the future.
Sales and Marketing
Sales
Due to
COVID-19
impacts and other business challenges in 2020, we eliminated our
in-house
sales team in 2020. In 2022, we are building out our marketing and sales network by hiring sales personnel to form a team of dedicated sales employees with responsibility for each of the geographic regions we serve. Additionally, we have been building out an international network of FARs that promote, sell and service our vehicles throughout the United States and the Caribbean.
Marketing
We plan to focus our marketing efforts on increasing brand awareness, generating demand for our products, communicating product advantages and generating qualified leads for our sales force. We intend to rely on a
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variety of marketing vehicles, including our website and social media, participation in industry conferences and trade shows, public relations and our collaborative relationships with our business and teaming partners to share our technical message and the benefits of our product offering, with customers.
Manufacturing
We currently contract with third-party suppliers to manufacture our products. In 2022, we intend to increase our integration efforts and begin completing the final assembly of
sub-assembly
components at our Corona, California, facility. In 2022, we also intend to begin producing our vehicles ourselves in the United States, which will be a key step towards our longer-term strategy of becoming a fully integrated electric vehicle manufacturer, and are currently exploring potential locations for establishing a manufacturing facility.
Distribution
We intend to distribute our products both inside and outside of our current U.S. market.
Other Agreements
In addition to our FAR Agreements, we have agreements with Central States Bus Sales Inc. and with Envirotech Electric Vehicles Inc. (“EEVI”). Neither of these agreements contain any binding purchase or sales minimums.
Central States Bus Sales, or Central States
Central States Bus Sales Inc. (“Central States”) in business for 45 years, is the official Blue Bird bus dealership in Illinois, Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas and is headquartered in Fenton, Missouri. They are partnered with many of the best manufacturers and vendors available in the transportation industry to provide dedicated transportation solutions through exceptional service. They sell and service a wide variety of bus manufacturers, and as a result of Blue Bird’s sale of electric school buses powered by ADOMANI drivetrain systems, they have qualified electric vehicle technicians on staff. We signed an agreement with Central States and will use them to provide warranty and maintenance services for electric fleet vehicles sold by us in certain Central States service areas. We are currently speaking to Central States about becoming a FAR.
Envirotech Electric Vehicles Incorporated
EEVI is a Canadian company engaged in the design, prototyping and certification of electric components and vehicles, including complete drivetrain systems. Prior to the completion of our acquisition of EVTDS, EEVI was the parent company of EVTDS. Prior to the completion of the Merger, we engaged EEVI to design and supply a series of
zero-emission
electric Class 3 and 6 trucks, cargo vans and chassis built to our specifications and requirements. The vehicles are initially comprised of a cab, chassis and electric drivetrain system. Any customer can then customize the trucks by adding a box or stake bed to the vehicle in accordance with their needs. We received the first truck and cargo van pursuant to our arrangement with EEVI in December 2018. In 2019, EEVI received the CARB executive order for certification. As the dealer for EEVI, we submitted additional information to the HVIP Department of CARB and received our HVIP listing in November 2019, which renders the trucks and vans eligible for
buy-down
funding based on the GVWR. These
buy-down
funds are intended to enable companies to purchase
zero-emission
electric trucks and receive a discount to aid in the purchase. The HVIP
buy-down
funding is currently between $60,000 for Class 3 and Class 4 vehicles ($66,000 if used in a disadvantaged area community census tract).
As a result of our acquisition of EVTDS, we acquired EVTDS’s rights and assumed its obligations under an Exclusive Supply Agreement entered into between EVTDS and EEVI (the “Exclusive Distribution Agreement”). Pursuant to the Exclusive Distribution Agreement, EEVI appointed EVTDS as the exclusive distributor of certain
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of EEVI’s products in the United States on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth therein. Unless earlier terminated in accordance with the terms thereof, the Exclusive Distribution Agreement will remain in effect for a term expiring on December 17, 2070. The Exclusive Distribution Agreement provides us certainty of product supply and consistency of design between different classes or type of vehicles; allows us to license the products to third party resellers, distributors and others which should enhance our ability to sell vehicles and permits us to use trademarks associated with the vehicles, all of which we believe is very advantageous to executing our business plan.
Raw Materials and Supply Chain
Prices for the systems, components and raw materials we use in our vehicles and drivetrain systems, many of which are OEM items used by many companies in different applications, can fluctuate depending on market conditions and global demand. Our purchase of raw materials is currently limited due to sales volume, but we attempt to limit our exposure to raw material price increases and availability fluctuations by having relationships with a dynamic group of vendors that sell us value-added hardware, components and systems. We have further mitigated these supply chain risks by establishing purchasing relationships with multiple vendors that are diversified by type of product offered, brand of products offered, country of origin of products (which is relevant for “Buy American” provisions that we encounter with our customers), individual specification requirements, purchase quantity requirements, quality, availability and price. Our drivetrain systems allow for component substitution, which further mitigates our exposure to any one supplier or component. We believe that we have adequate supplies and access to the sources of the systems, components and materials to meet our current and anticipated future production and supply requirements.
Backlog
As of December 31, 2021, we had a backlog of 37
zero-emission
Class 4 trucks and 43
zero-emission
Class 4 cargo vans, which consists of unfilled firm orders for products under signed contracts with customers. We believe our costs, substantially paid for as of December 31, 2021, associated with the current backlog, will be approximately $5.1 million and that the sale price of the current backlog will be approximately $6.8 million.
Employees
As of April 8, 2022, we had 12 employees in total, which are all full-time employees. None of our employees are covered by collective bargaining agreements and we believe our employee relations are good.
Competition
The electric vehicle market is highly competitive, and we expect it to become even more so in the future as additional companies launch competing products and vehicle offerings. We compete with other alternative energy technologies, such as natural gas, propane and hybrid technologies. The electric competitors include Ford, which produces the Ford Transit Connect EV
®
and has made recent statements about producing an electric
F-150
pickup truck and has announced production of the Mustang
Mach-E
SUV; Nissan, which besides the Leaf EV, produces a small electric delivery van called the NV200; Rivian, which intends to introduce the R1T electric
pick-up
truck; General Motors, which besides producing the Chevy Bolt EV, has made recent statements about considering the production of an electric
pick-up
truck and reintroducing an electric Hummer; Blue Bird has electric drivetrain options for their
Type-D,
C and A school buses; Navistar, which produced the Navistar eStar
®
and builds the electric drivetrain system for IC
Type-C
school buses, unveiled a prototype battery-electric version of its medium-duty International MV truck in late 2019 and a regular production eMV model is said to be coming to the market in 2021; Freightliner, which produces the eM2 and eCascadia electric trucks;
Mercedes-Benz,
producing the eActros electric truck and EQV electric vans; Mitsubishi/Fuso produces the eCanter electric truck; Tesla, producing a
Class-8
Semi truck and recently introduced a
pick-up
truck called the Cybertruck; Bollinger Motors, producing the B2 electric pickup truck; Odyne Systems, which produces
plug-in
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hybrid drivetrain systems for trucks and buses; Lightning Systems, which produces
re-power
electric drivetrain systems for trucks and buses; Lion Electric Company, a Canadian-based manufacturer of Type C
all-electric
school buses, mini buses and a
Class-8
truck; Nordresa, which produces
re-power
electric drivetrain systems for
cab-forward
trucks and package delivery vans; Volkswagen has presented an
e-Delivery
truck and a Volksbuse-Flex prototypes; Proterra has a full line of electric transit buses and is providing electric drivetrain systems for Thomas Bus, electric school buses; Workhorse, which builds an
all-electric
walk-in
van and an electric prototype
pick-up
truck called the
W-15;
Chanje, which produces a large electric package delivery van; Volvo is expected to begin selling its FE Electric and FL Electric semi-trucks by the end of 2021; Peterbilt has said they will have three battery-electric truck models available for sale in 2021; Nikola Motors has said it will produce the Nikola One and Nikola Two model semi-trucks; BYD, which manufactures new electric trucks and transit buses; TransPower, which has converted
Type-C
and D school buses and trucks; and Motiv, which sells electric drivetrain systems for Type A school buses and package delivery vans.
Intellectual Property
The protection of our technology and intellectual property is an important component of our success. We rely on intellectual property laws, including trade secret, copyright, trademark and patent laws in the United States and abroad, and use contracts, confidentiality procedures,
non-disclosure
agreements, employee disclosure and invention assignment agreements and other contractual rights to protect our intellectual property.
As of December 31, 2021, we own three issued U.S. patents, which will expire in 2030 and 2033. In addition, we maintain a trademark portfolio including common law trademarks and service marks and have three service marks registered and two trademark registrations in the United States. We have one pending trademark and service mark application in Ukraine, and one allowed trademark application pending in the Philippines.
Circumstances outside of our control could pose a threat to our intellectual property rights. Effective intellectual property protection may not be available in the United States or other countries in which we provide our solution. In addition, the efforts we have taken to protect our intellectual property rights may not be sufficient or effective. Any impairment of our intellectual property rights could harm our business, our ability to compete and harm our operating results. In addition, as the number of competitors grows and solutions of competitors overlap, we may in the future face claims by third parties that we infringe upon or misappropriate their intellectual property rights, and we may be found to be infringing upon or to have misappropriated such rights. In the future, we, or our customers, may be the subject of legal proceedings alleging that our solutions or underlying technology infringe or violate the intellectual property rights of others.
Governmental Programs and Incentives
We believe that the availability of government subsidies and incentives currently is an important factor considered by our customers when purchasing vehicles that utilize our technology, and that our growth depends in part on the availability and amounts of these subsidies and incentives. Over time, we believe that the importance of the availability of government subsidies and incentives will decrease, as we continue to reduce the upfront cost of vehicles that utilize our technology. In order to help ensure that we and our customers benefit from available subsidies and incentive programs in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, we intend to utilize the services of incentive specialists that work directly with our sales team and our customers on these issues providing updates in near real-time as programs become available.
Overview of Incentive Programs Most Applicable to Our Products
We intend to have our products approved for various local, state and federal incentive programs, including those set forth below. In particular, California’s
zero-emission
vehicle mandate, which requires the percentage of an automobile manufacturer’s sales must be
zero-emission
vehicles, has resulted in numerous incentive programs designed to accelerate the purchase and/or repower of cleaner, more efficient vehicles in California. We
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anticipate that the relevant aggregate funding available in California alone over the next several years may be in excess of $800 million, which includes federal, state and Volkswagen settlement funding sources.
California Hybrid and Zero-Emissions Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project (HVIP)
HVIP is a CARB program administered by CALSTART, the purpose of which is to help speed the early market introduction of clean,
low-carbon
hybrid and electric trucks and buses. Under HVIP, dealers and fleet operators may request vouchers from HVIP on a first-come first-served basis, up to the funding amount available for that year, to reduce the cost of purchasing hybrid and
zero-emission
medium- and heavy-duty trucks and buses. It is a statewide program. While the HVIP program is currently, as announced to release $197 million on March 30, 2022, working on the specific guidelines in an implementation manual to guide the release of the approximate $197 million funding currently reserved for voucher requests, we believe our customers may become eligible to request vouchers for purchase under HVIP as funds are made available quarterly throughout 2022.
HVIP vouchers range in amounts depending on the gross vehicle weight of the purchased vehicle and the number of vehicles purchased. Zero-emission Class 3 trucks are currently eligible for up to $45,000. Class 4 and Class 5 vehicles are funded at the $60,000 level and Class 6 and Class 7 vehicles are eligible for $85,000. Depending on project location (i.e. if in a disadvantaged area community census tract) those amounts can be increased to $49,500, $66,000, and $93,500, respectively. However, HVIP may also be revising per vehicle amounts available for future grant periods.
HVIP funds the purchase of only fully commercialized hybrid and
zero-emission
trucks and buses. Vehicles still in the demonstration or evaluation stage are not eligible for inclusion in HVIP. Vehicle manufacturers must apply to have their hybrid and
zero-emissions
trucks and buses included in HVIP’s voucher program. Once a make and model is included in the program, the manufacturer is not required to submit a full application for the succeeding year’s program unless the vehicle has been modified. We intend to comply with the HVIP guidelines and continue to qualify our vehicles for the HVIP vouchers.
New York Truck Voucher Incentive Program (NYTVIP)
NYT-VIP
is a first-come, first-served incentive program funded by the New York State Energy Research & Development Authority. The structure and process for fleets to secure incentives is similar to that of HVIP discussed above. Eligible vehicles include
all-electric,
hybrid-electric, and CNG trucks and buses. Funding for eligible vehicles domiciled in New York State can reach $150,000 per vehicle. Class 4 and 5 all electric trucks are eligible for up to $100,000 and $110,000 in funds respectively (i.e., up to 95% of the incremental cost over diesel). We were named an approved dealership in the summer of 2020, and our vehicles are included on the NYTVIP eligible vehicle list for the program, which reopened in late 2019 and has $18.4 million in funds available.
New York City Clean Trucks Voucher Program (NYCCTVP)
In support of the transition to
all-electric
vehicles, in early February, 2020, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio signed an executive order requiring electrification of the city’s entire municipal vehicle fleet by 2040.
In October 2020, we were named an approved dealership and our vehicles have been listed on the eligible vehicles list for the New York City Clean Trucks Program. This program provides funding for new electric truck purchases by New York City customers to replace and scrap older polluting ICE vehicles. The rebate incentive funding program provides New York City fleet owners $100,000 per vehicle for an
all-electric
Class 4 truck sold to them by ADOMANI, and $110,000 for a Class 5
all-electric
truck. The amounts increase for
Class 6-Class
8 trucks.
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New Jersey Zero Emissions Incentive Program (NJZIP)
The New Jersey Zero Emissions Incentive Program is a $15 million pilot voucher program that supports businesses and institutions purchasing new,
zero-emission
vehicles operating in the greater Newark and greater Camden areas by offering up to $100,000 towards the purchase of battery-electric vehicles. In June 2021, we were named an approved vendor in the Program. The Program will fund 100 to 300 vouchers ranging in value from $25,000 to $100,000 for businesses and institutional organizations looking to transition their fleets to zero emissions. Bonuses will be available for small businesses and minority-, women-, and veteran-owned businesses. NJ ZIP is funded by proceeds allocated to the New Jersey Economic Development Authority by the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (“RGGI”) for the purposes of reducing harmful emissions, especially in communities disproportionately impacted by transportation emissions, and creating economic opportunity within the state.
Maryland FY22 Clean Fuels Incentive Program (CFIP)
The Maryland FY22 Clean Fuels Incentive Program is a $1 million voucher program that provides financial assistance for the purchase of new and converted alternative fueled fleet vehicles registered in the state of Maryland. The primary goal of CFIP is to reduce the consumption of imported petroleum resulting in a cleaner and greener transportation sector within Maryland. The application period opened on September 1, 2021 and closed at 5 pm EST on December 31, 2021. The Program will fund vouchers for
Class 3-8
vehicles with a maximum cap of $80,000 per vehicle. CFIP is funded by the Strategic Energy Investment Fund (“SEIF”) for the purposes of reducing harmful emissions. SEIF is primarily funded from Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (“RGGI”) auctions. As in the NJ ZIP program, end users apply for the vouchers; we have encouraged our customers who have customers in Maryland to apply for the vouchers.
Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Trust Funds
Beginning in 2018, several states have allocated millions in funds per year to
on-road
vehicle projects. Several individual states have provided carve outs specifically for electric vehicles and, in some cases, electric school buses. For example, California, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio have each allocated funds directly to electric school bus projects. The California program will provide per vehicle incentives of $750,000. These states have been in the process of funding their initial rounds or are developing specific funding plans. We have engaged with several of these states to support the development of such plans, including funding the purchase of other commercial vehicles, provided that the buyer surrenders a qualifying existing fossil-fueled vehicle in order to qualify for the funding.
California Air Resources Board (“CARB”)
CARB gathers air quality data for the State of California, ensures the quality of this data, designs and implements air models, and sets ambient air quality standards for the state, with a particular focus on regulating tailpipe emissions and other mobile sources. CARB compiles the state’s emissions inventory and performs air quality and emissions inventory special studies. CARB uses the Emissions Inventory and Air Quality Models to evaluate air quality and reduce emissions in each of California’s 35 local air districts.
CARB also manages several incentive and rebate programs and awards hundreds of millions of dollars in grants to reduce emissions from
on-
and
off-road
vehicles and equipment. CARB is responsible for program oversight. CARB awards grants and funds through the Air Quality Improvement Program (AB 118), the Carl Moyer Program, the Voucher Incentive Program for enhanced fleet modernization and emission reduction, and the Lower-Emission School Bus Program/School Bus Retrofit and Replacement Account. In February 2020, the CARB staff held a workshop to discuss a new fleet rule that will target a 100%
zero-emission
truck and bus fleet for the state of California by 2045. The rule making being considered enjoys broad political support, and has some precedent (e.g., the Advanced Clean Transit rule). We will monitor future actions on the proposal.
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California Energy Commission (“CEC”)
The California Energy Commission has several core responsibilities, including but not limited to setting energy policy, developing renewable energy, achieving energy efficiency, and transforming California’s transportation infrastructure. One goal of the CEC is to mitigate GHG emissions and reduce the impact of climate change. The CEC carries out its responsibilities pursuant to several of California’s landmark environmental laws. In 2006, the Legislature passed and then Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed two landmark pieces of legislation with
far-reaching
implications for energy policy. The most comprehensive is AB 32, the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, which sets an economy-wide cap on California GHG emissions at 1990 levels by no later than 2020. At the time, this was an aggressive goal that represented an approximately 11% reduction from then-current emissions levels and nearly a 30% reduction from projected
business-as-usual
levels in 2020. In 2015, California passed Senate Bill (SB) 350, which further committed California to reducing GHG emissions by establishing a 2030 greenhouse gas reduction target of 40% below 1990 levels and to achieve 100% clean energy by 2045. The transportation sector represents a significant portion of California’s GHG emissions. This bill was amended with respect to implementation, but the targeted goals remain the same as originally passed. In 2007, AB 118 created the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program. The program is intended to increase the use of alternative and renewable fuels and innovative technologies that will transform California’s fuel and vehicle types to help attain the state’s climate change policies. AB 118 authorizes the CEC to provide approximately $100 million annually as incentives to public agencies, vehicle and technology consortia, businesses, public-private partnerships, workforce training partnerships and collaboratives, fleet owners, consumers, recreational boaters, and academic institutions for projects that: develop and improve alternative and renewable
low-carbon
fuels; optimize alternative and renewable fuels for existing and developing engine technologies; improve light-, medium-, and heavy-duty vehicle technologies; and retrofit
medium-and
heavy-duty
on-road
and
non-road
vehicle fleets.
Air Quality Management Districts (“AQMD”) and Air Pollution Control Districts (“APCD”)
California’s AQMDs/APCDs are responsible for controlling emissions primarily from stationary sources of air pollution such as large power plants and refineries, but also have a role in distributing funds and administering incentive programs from mobile sources-primarily cars, trucks and buses, but also construction equipment, ships and trains, from which approximately 75% of emissions are generated. The largest AQMD/ APCDs are the South Coast AQMD, Bay Area AQMD, San Joaquin Valley APCD, and the San Diego APCD. Local AQMDs/APCDs develop and adopt an Air Quality Improvement Plans, which serves as the blueprint to bring the respective areas into compliance with federal and state clean air standards. Rules are adopted to reduce emissions from various sources, including specific types of equipment, industrial processes, paints and solvents, even consumer products. Permits are issued to many businesses and industries to ensure compliance with air quality rules. Local AQMDs award grants to help reduce emissions in their local communities. These grants and incentive programs include programs aimed at reducing emissions from mobile sources such as buses and trucks. For example, the San Joaquin Valley Air District’s Truck Replacement Program is a program open year-round, which offers grant funding equal to HVIP. In some cases, air district funding programs such as this can be combined with other sources including state and federal grants.
Clean Cities
Clean Cities is a program administered by the DOE’s Office of Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Vehicle Technology Program. According to the DOE, the mission of Clean Cities is to advance the energy, economic, and environmental security of the United States by supporting local decisions to adopt practices that reduce the use of petroleum in the transportation sector. Clean Cities is a government-industry partnership. Under the program, public and private stakeholders from businesses, city and state governments, the automotive industry, fuel providers, and community organizations form coalitions throughout the country, which then work with the DOE to establish a plan for reducing petroleum consumption in their respective geographic areas.
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Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (“CMAQ”) Improvement Program
The CMAQ Improvement Program, which is jointly administered by the Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration and Federal Transit Administration, provides funding to states to support surface transportation projects and other related efforts that contribute air quality improvements and provide congestion relief. CMAQ funding is allocated to the states annually based on a statutory formula that is based on population and air quality classification as designated by the EPA. Each state’s transportation department then is responsible for distributing the funds. State transportation departments may spend CMAQ funds on projects that reduce ozone precursors, and at least 16 states have used CMAQ funds for alternative fuel vehicle projects (such as purchasing electric or hybrid vehicles).
Other State Incentives
A number of states and municipalities in the United States, as well as certain private enterprises, offer incentive programs to encourage the adoption of alternative fuel vehicles, including tax exemptions, tax credits, exemptions and special privileges. For example, Arizona exempts use tax and lowers registration fees for the purchase of an electric vehicle. Other states, including Colorado, Georgia, Utah, Florida and West Virginia, provide for substantial state tax credits for the purchase of electric vehicles.
Government Regulation
Our products are designed to comply with a significant number of governmental regulations and industry standards, some of which are evolving as new technologies are deployed. Government regulations regarding the manufacture, sale and implementation of products and systems similar to ours are subject to future change. We cannot predict what impact, if any, such changes may have upon our business. We believe that vehicles that utilize our technology are in conformity with all applicable laws in all relevant jurisdictions.
Emission and Fuel Economy Standards
Government regulation related to climate change is under consideration at the U.S. federal and state levels. The EPA and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (“NHTSA”) issued a final rule for greenhouse gas emissions and fuel economy requirements for trucks and heavy-duty engines on August 9, 2011, which had an initial
phase-in
starting with model year 2014 and a final
phase-in
occurring in model year 2017. NHTSA standards for model years 2014 and 2015 were voluntary, while mandatory standards first went into effect in 2016. In August 2016, the EPA and NHTSA jointly finalized Phase 2 standards for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles through model year 2027 to improve fleet fuel efficiency and cut carbon emissions.
The rule provides emission standards for carbon dioxide and fuel consumption standards for three main categories of vehicles: (i) combination tractors, (ii) heavy-duty pickup trucks and vans, and (iii) vocational vehicles. According to the EPA and NHTSA, vocational vehicles consist of a wide variety of truck and bus types, including delivery, refuse, utility, dump, cement, transit bus, shuttle bus, school bus, emergency vehicles, motor homes and tow trucks, and are characterized by a complex build process, with an incomplete chassis often built with an engine and transmission purchased from other manufacturers, then sold to a body manufacturer.
The EPA and NHTSA rule also establishes multiple flexibility and incentive programs for manufacturers of alternatively fueled vehicles, including an engine averaging banking and trading (“ABT”) program, a vehicle ABT program and additional credit programs for early adoption of standards or deployment of advanced or innovative technologies. The ABT programs allows for emission and/or fuel consumption credits to be averaged, banked or traded within defined groupings of the regulatory subcategories. The additional credit programs allow manufacturers of engines and vehicles to be eligible to generate credits if they demonstrate improvements in excess of the standards established in the rule prior to the model year the standards become effective or if they introduce advanced or innovative technology engines or vehicles.
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Vehicle Safety and Testing
The National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966 (“Safety Act”), regulates motor vehicles and motor vehicle equipment in the United States in two primary ways. First, the Safety Act prohibits the sale in the United States of any new vehicle or equipment that does not conform to applicable motor vehicle safety standards established by NHTSA. Meeting or exceeding many safety standards is costly, in part because the standards tend to conflict with the need to reduce vehicle weight in order to meet emissions and fuel economy standards. Second, the Safety Act requires that defects related to motor vehicle safety be remedied through safety recall campaigns. A manufacturer is obligated to recall vehicles if it determines that the vehicles do not comply with a safety standard. Should we or NHTSA determine that either a safety defect or noncompliance exists with respect to any of our modified vehicles, the cost of such recall campaigns could be substantial.
Battery Safety and Testing
We believe our battery packs conform to mandatory regulations that govern transport of “dangerous goods,” which includes
lithium-ion
batteries that may present a risk in transportation. The governing regulations, which are issued by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, are based on the UN Recommendations on the Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods Model Regulations, and related UN Manual of Tests and Criteria. The requirements for shipments of these goods vary by mode of transportation, such as ocean vessel, rail, truck and air.
Our battery suppliers have completed the applicable transportation tests including:
• altitude simulation, which involves simulating air transport;
• thermal cycling, which involves assessing cell and battery seal integrity;
• vibration, which involves simulating vibration during transport;
• shock, which involves simulating possible impacts during transport;
Item 1A. RISK FACTORS
Investing in our securities involves significant risks, including the potential loss of all or part of your investment. These risks could materially affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and cause a decline in the market price of our common stock. You should carefully consider all of the risks described in this Annual Report, in addition to the other information contained in this Annual Report, before you make an investment in our securities. In addition to other matters identified or described by us from time to time in filings with the SEC, there are several important factors that could cause our future results to differ materially from historical results or trends, results anticipated or planned by us, or results that are reflected from time to time in any forward-looking statement. Some of these important factors, but not necessarily
all-important
factors, include the following:
Risks Related to Our Business
Business interruptions resulting from the
COVID-19
pandemic have adversely affected, and could continue to adversely affect, our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
In December 2019, a novel strain of a virus named
SARS-CoV-2
(severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2), or coronavirus, which causes coronavirus disease, or
COVID-19,
was reported to have surfaced in Wuhan, China, and has reached multiple other regions and countries, including the United States and, more specifically, Southern California, where our primary office is located. In March 2020, the World Health
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Organization declared
COVID-19
a global pandemic. Since that time, the coronavirus pandemic has continued to spread, and to date has led to the implementation of various responses, including government-imposed quarantines, travel restrictions, and other public health safety measures that have adversely affected workforces, organizations, economies, and financial markets globally, leading to economic uncertainty and increased market volatility. Global health concerns related to the
COVID-19
pandemic have resulted in social, economic and labor instability in the countries in which we or the third parties with whom we engage operate, and resulted in unexpected legal and regulatory changes, such as travel, social distancing and quarantine policies, boycotts, curtailment of trade, and other business restrictions that have negatively affected our ability to procure and sell our products and provide our services. More recently, the
COVID-19
pandemic has led to a disruption of the global supply chain, which has adversely impacted, and may continue to adversely impact, our ability and that of our manufacturing partners’ to procure the components needed to produce our vehicles on terms acceptable to us and has resulted in delays in the delivery of our products to customers. If we are unable to effectively address such challenges and mitigate the potentially negative impacts of the pandemic and related supply chain disruptions on our business, it could result in additional delivery delays and canceled orders, reduced demand for our products and solutions, and adversely affect our customers’ ability to pay for our products and solutions.
Additionally, the
COVID-19
pandemic has negatively impacted our ability to market our vehicles to new and existing customers, increased our production and sales cycle times and harmed our business, results of operations, financial condition, and could have other currently unforeseen negative impacts on us. We expect these negative impacts, among others, will continue due to the ongoing effects of the
COVID-19
pandemic. While we have developed, and continue to develop, plans to address such ongoing effects and help mitigate the potential negative impact of the pandemic on our business, these efforts may not be effective and a protracted economic downturn will likely limit the ability of our mitigation efforts to be successful. Accordingly, our future performance will depend in part upon our ability to successfully respond and adapt to these challenges and we have developed, and continue to develop, plans to address the ongoing effects and help mitigate the potential negative impact of the pandemic on our business. It is not possible for us to predict the duration or magnitude of the adverse results of the
COVID-19
pandemic and its effects on our business, results of operations, or financial condition at this time. To the extent the
COVID-19
pandemic adversely affects our business and financial results, it may also have the effect of heightening many of the other risks described in this “Risk Factors” section.
We may not successfully execute our business plan to generate revenue and create a sustainable growth trajectory.
We did not generate significant revenues for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, due in part to the combined impact of
COVID-19
restrictions and the absence of HVIP funding available to our customers. Our ability to continue to generate revenue and grow our revenue will depend, in part, on our ability to execute our business plan, expand our business model and develop new products in a timely manner. We may fail to do so. A variety of factors outside of our control could affect our ability to generate revenue and our revenue growth. Our success in implementing our strategy of producing and selling new purpose-built
zero-emission
vehicles could also slow our revenue growth.
We have a history of losses and we may not achieve or sustain profitability in the future.
For the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, we incurred net losses of $7,652,100 and $279,521, respectively. The 2021 loss includes approximately $3.5 million of non-cash expenses, net of non-cash income of $290,520. As of December 31, 2021, we had working capital of approximately $21.5 million and accumulated deficit of approximately $8.1 million. To date, we have financed our operations primarily through capital raises from issuing common stock. We may not achieve profitability in the future as we anticipate that our operating expenses will increase significantly in the foreseeable future as we:
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• increase our sales and marketing to acquire new customers; and
Because we may incur the costs and expenses from these efforts before we receive any significant incremental revenues with respect thereto, our losses in future periods will likely be greater than the losses we would incur if we developed our business more slowly. In addition, these efforts may prove more expensive than we currently anticipate, or may not result in increases in our revenues, and we may not succeed in increasing our revenue sufficiently to offset these higher expenses. Even if we are successful in generating revenue and increasing our customer base, we may not become profitable in the future or may be unable to maintain any profitability achieved if we fail to increase our revenue and manage our operating expenses or if we incur unanticipated liabilities. Even if our revenue increases, we may not be able to sustain the rate of revenue growth. Revenue growth may be slow or revenue may decline for a number of reasons, including continued problems accessing various incentive programs to assist our customers with their purchase of our vehicles, lack of demand for our
zero-emission
vehicles and drivetrain systems, increasing competition, lengthening sales cycles, decelerating growth of, or declines in, our overall market, or our failure to capitalize on growth opportunities or to introduce new offerings. Any failure by us to achieve and maintain revenue or profitability could cause the price of our common stock to decline.
While we believe that our existing cash and cash equivalents as of December 31, 2021 will be sufficient to fund our operations during the next twelve months, we may not successfully execute our business plan, and if we do not, we may need additional capital to continue our operations. In February, 2022, we acquired a US manufacturing facility in Osceola Arkansas that will require additional debt and/or equity capital in order to purchase related equipment and set up production lines which is expected to require up to $80 million of additional investment through 2027.
Our limited operating history and the pandemic makes it difficult to evaluate our current business and future prospects.
Our relatively short operating history, recent changes to our business model, the lack of available HVIP funding to assist our customers, and our inability to predict the ultimate duration and severity of
COVID-19
impacts on our business make it difficult to evaluate our current business and our future prospects. It is difficult to predict our future revenues and appropriately budget for our expenses, although we recently significantly decreased our operating expenses and intend to only increase them as we perceive that the
COVID-19
pandemic is subsiding and that customers are willing to move forward with our vehicles. We have limited insight into other trends that may emerge and affect our business. We have encountered and will continue to encounter risks and difficulties frequently experienced by growing companies in rapidly developing and changing industries, including challenges in forecasting accuracy, determining appropriate investments of our limited resources, market acceptance of our products and services and future products and services, competition from new and established companies, including those with greater financial and technical resources, acquiring and retaining customers and increasing revenue from existing customers, enhancing and developing our products and services. You should consider our business and prospects in light of the risks and difficulties that we will encounter as we continue to develop our business model. We may not be able to address these risks and difficulties successfully, which would materially harm our business and operating results and cause the market price of our common stock to decline.
We may experience quarterly fluctuations in our operating results due to a number of factors, which make our future results difficult to predict and could cause our operating results to fall below expectations.
Our quarterly operating results may fluctuate due to a variety of factors, many of which are outside of our control. As a result, comparing our operating results on a
period-to-period
basis may not be meaningful. You should not consider our past results in any projected growth rate or as indicative of our future performance.
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We expect our
period-to-period
operating results to vary based on our operating costs, which we anticipate will increase significantly in future periods as we, among other things, design and develop our
zero-emission
vehicles and drivetrain systems, open new design, sales and service facilities, hire additional technology staff, increase our travel and operational budgets, increase our facility costs, hire and train service personnel, increase our sales and marketing activities, and increase our general and administrative functions to support our growing operations. As a result of these factors, we believe that
quarter-to-quarter
comparisons of our operating results, especially in the short-term, are not necessarily meaningful and that these comparisons cannot be relied upon as indicators of future performance. Moreover, our operating results may not meet expectations of equity research analysts or investors. If any of this occurs, the trading price of our stock could decline, either suddenly or over time.
Based upon all of the factors described above, we have a limited ability to forecast our future revenue, costs and expenses and, as a result, our operating results may from time to time fall below our estimates.
Our future growth is dependent upon demand for new
mid-sized
zero-emission
trucks and cargo vans, and other fleet vehicles
Our growth is highly dependent upon the market acceptance of, and we are subject to an elevated risk of any reduced demand for, new
zero-emission
trucks and other fleet vehicles. If this market does not develop as we expect or develops more slowly than we expect, our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results will be harmed, and we may need to raise additional capital. This market is relatively new, rapidly evolving, characterized by rapidly changing technologies, price competition, additional competitors, evolving government regulation and industry standards, frequent new vehicle announcements and changing consumer demands and behaviors. Factors that may influence the market acceptance of new
zero-emission
vehicles include:
• the availability of service for zero-emission electric vehicles;
• changes in the cost of oil and gasoline;
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• perceptions about and the actual cost of alternative fuel; and
• macroeconomic factors.
Additionally, we have limited experience in introducing new products, as we commenced production and deliveries of our products within the most recent few years. To the extent that we are not able to build our products in accordance with customer expectations, our future sales could be harmed.
We may also become subject to regulations that require us to alter the design of our vehicles, which could negatively impact consumer interest in our products.
The influence of any of the factors described above may cause current or potential customers not to purchase our electric vehicles, which would materially adversely affect our business, operating results, financial condition and prospects.
We may not be able to compete successfully against current and future competitors.
The market for commercial
zero-emission
electric vehicles is relatively new, rapidly evolving, characterized by rapidly changing technologies, price competition, additional competitors, evolving government regulation and industry standards, frequent new vehicle announcements and changing consumer demands and behaviors.
Most of our existing and potential competitors, including Ford, Nissan, Navistar, Freightliner,
Mercedes-Benz,
Odyne Systems, Lightning Systems, Nordresa, Workhorse, Mitsubishi/Fuso, BYD, Proterra, TransPower, Lion Electric Company, Rivian, GreenPower Motor Company, General Motors, Blue Bird, Tesla, Volkswagen, Volvo, PeterBilt, Nikola, and Motiv. Our competitors have substantially greater financial resources, more extensive engineering, manufacturing, marketing and customer service and support capabilities, longer operating histories and greater name recognition than we do. They may be able to devote greater resources to the design, development, manufacturing, distribution, promotion, sale and support of their products. Virtually all of our competitors have more extensive customer bases and broader customer and industry relationships than we do. Our competitors may be in a stronger position to respond quickly to new technologies and may be able to design, develop, market and sell their products more effectively. As a result, our competitors may be able to compete more aggressively and sustain that competition over a longer period of time than we can. Each of these competitors has the potential to capture market share in our target market, which could have an adverse effect on our position in our industry and on our business and operating results.
We expect competition in our industry to intensify in the future in light of anticipated increased demand for alternative fuel vehicles and to continued globalization and consolidation in the worldwide automotive industry.
Factors affecting competition include product quality and features, innovation and development time, pricing, reliability, safety, fuel economy, customer service and financing terms. Increased competition may lead to lower vehicle unit sales and increased inventory, which may result in further downward price pressure and adversely affect our business, financial condition, operating results and prospects. Our ability to successfully compete in our industry will be fundamental to our future success in existing and new markets and to our market share. There can be no assurances that we will be able to compete successfully in our markets. If our competitors introduce new products or services that compete with or surpass the quality, price or performance of our products or services, we may be unable to satisfy existing customers or attract new customers at the prices and levels that would allow us to generate attractive rates of return on our investment. A disruptive technology advancement in the electric vehicle industry by a competitor, such as in energy storage, traction motors or power electronics, could affect the sales of our products.
Demand in the
zero-emission
electric vehicle industry is volatile, which may lead to lower vehicle unit sales, which could adversely affect our operating results. Volatility of demand in the
zero-emission
electric
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vehicle industry may materially and adversely affect our business, prospects, operating results and financial condition. The markets in which we currently compete and plan to compete in the future have been subject to considerable volatility in demand in recent periods. As a low volume producer, we have fewer financial resources than more established providers have to withstand changes in the market and disruptions in demand. Volatility in demand may lead to lower vehicle unit sales and increased inventory, which may result in further downward price pressure and adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results. These effects may have a more pronounced impact on our business given our relatively smaller scale and financial resources as compared to many incumbent providers.
Competition could result in price reductions and revenue shortfalls, loss of customers and loss of market share. If we cannot compete successfully against current and future competitors, our business, prospects, results of operations and financial condition could be negatively impacted.
Our sales cycle can be long and unpredictable and require considerable time and expense before executing a customer agreement, which may make it difficult to project when, if at all, we will obtain new customers and generate revenue from those customers.
The sales cycle for our business, from initial contact with a potential lead to contract execution and implementation, typically takes significant time and is difficult to predict. Our sales cycle in some cases has lasted up to six to nine months or more. Our sales efforts involve educating our customers about the use, capabilities and benefits of our products and services. Some of our customers undertake a significant evaluation process that frequently involves not only our products and services but also the offerings of our competitors. This process can be costly and time-consuming. In addition, once a customer is inclined to purchase our products, their ability in most cases to issue a purchase order is dependent on being granted funding toward the purchase. It is very difficult for us, or our customers, to predict the timing of the release of such funding, and specifically whether they will receive any of it. As a result, it is difficult to predict when we will obtain new customers and begin generating revenue from these new customers. As part of our sales cycle, we may incur significant expenses before executing a definitive agreement with a prospective customer and before we are able to generate any revenue from such agreement. The substantial time and money spent on our sales efforts may not generate significant revenue. If conditions in the marketplace generally or with a specific prospective customer change negatively, it is possible that no definitive agreement will be executed, and we will be unable to recover any of these expenses. If we are not successful in targeting, supporting and streamlining our sales processes, our ability to grow our business, and our operating results and financial condition may be adversely affected. If our sales cycles lengthen, our future revenue could be lower than expected, which would have an adverse impact on our consolidated operating results and could cause our stock price to decline.
Developments in alternative technologies or improvements in the internal combustion engine may materially adversely affect the demand for electric vehicles and our products.
Significant developments in alternative technologies, such as advanced diesel, ethanol and other renewable fuels, fuel cells or compressed natural gas, or improvements in the fuel economy of the internal combustion engine, may materially and adversely affect our business and prospects in ways we do not currently anticipate. For example, compressed natural gas or propane, which are abundant and relatively inexpensive in North America, may emerge as consumers’ preference. Any failure by us to develop new or enhanced technologies or processes, or to react to changes in existing technologies, could materially delay our development and introduction of new and enhanced
zero-emission
electric vehicles or drivetrain systems, which could result in the loss of competitiveness of our products, decreased revenue and a loss of market share to competitors.
If we are unable to keep up with advances in
zero-emission
electric vehicle technology, we may suffer an inability to obtain a competitive position in the market or suffer a decline in our competitive position.
There are companies in the
zero-emission
electric vehicle industry that have developed or are developing vehicles and technologies that compete or will compete with our vehicles. Our competitors could be able to
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provide products and services similar to ours more efficiently or at greater scale. We may be unable to keep up with changes in
zero-emission
electric vehicle technology and, as a result, may suffer a decline in our competitive position. Any failure to keep up with advances in
zero-emission
electric vehicle technology would result in a decline in our competitive position, which would materially and adversely affect our business, prospects, operating results and financial condition. Our research and development efforts may not be sufficient to adapt to changes in
zero-emission
electric vehicle technology. As technologies change, we plan to upgrade or adapt our vehicles and introduce new vehicles in order to continue to provide vehicles with the latest technology, in particular battery cell technology. However, our vehicles may not compete effectively with alternatives if we are unable to source and integrate the latest technology into our vehicles. For example, we do not currently manufacture the items required to produce our vehicles, including battery cells, which makes us dependent upon other suppliers of technology for our battery packs, motors and other components of our electric vehicles. If for any reason we are unable to keep pace with changes in commercial electric vehicle technology, particularly battery technology, our competitive position may be adversely affected. However, our recently announced plans to require ProGreens mentioned above will mitigate these issues as it pertains to batteries and battery packs.
The demand for commercial
zero-emission
electric vehicles depends, in part, on the continuation of current trends resulting from historical dependence on fossil fuels. Extended periods of low diesel or other petroleum-based fuel prices could adversely affect demand for vehicles that utilize our technology, which could adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results.
We believe that much of the present and projected demand for commercial
zero-emission
electric vehicles results from concerns about volatility in the cost of petroleum-based fuel, the dependency of the United States on oil from unstable or hostile countries, government regulations and economic incentives promoting fuel efficiency and alternative forms of energy, as well as the belief that poor air quality and climate change results in part from the burning of fossil fuels. If the cost of petroleum-based fuel decreased significantly, or the long-term supply of oil in the United States improved, the government may eliminate or modify its regulations or economic incentives related to fuel efficiency and alternative forms of energy. If there is a change in the perception that the burning of fossil fuels does not negatively impact the environment, the demand for commercial
zero-emission
electric vehicles could be reduced, and our business and revenue may be harmed. Diesel and other petroleum- based fuel prices have been extremely volatile, and we believe this continuing volatility will persist. Lower diesel or other petroleum-based fuel prices over extended periods of time may lower the current perception in government and the private sector that cheaper, more readily available energy alternatives should be developed and produced. If diesel or other petroleum-based fuel prices remain at deflated levels for extended periods of time, the demand for commercial electric vehicles may decrease, which could have an adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results.
We may not be able to reduce and adequately control the costs and expenses associated with operating our business, including our material and production costs.