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Bollinger Halts B1 and B2 Development, Focuses on Commercial Vehicles

There are a few curious things about Bollinger. The first is that its naming strategy reminds us of Bananas in Pyjamas, with B1 and B2 as their vehicles. The second is the boxy design, but we now have a third one to add. Due to demand for commercial electric chassis, B1 and B2 will indefinitely have to be in pajamas.
Bollinger B1 and B2 will have to wait to get to market: a commercial electric chassis has priority. 10 photos
Photo: Bollinger
B2 FrontB2 RearB2 AngleB2 BedB2 DashB2 Glass RoofB2 InteriorB2 DashB2 Driver Side
This is what Robert Bollinger told Automotive News about its next steps. His company is not counting on external investors and is doing all development with its own resources. When customers started asking Bollinger for an electric chassis for their vehicles, he had to reallocate them to the development of this product.

That happened because the B1 and the B2 are off-roaders – with four-wheel-drive capability. Commercial vehicles need as much range as possible, something that rear-wheel drive is more efficient at offering. In other words, Bollinger had to develop a rear-wheel-drive chassis to sell to these new customers.

Although this is good business for the company, it will surely disappoint private buyers. Bollinger said he would return all $1,000 deposits his company has received so far. Considering the amount of money he will have to repay is about $1 million, we are talking about more or less 1,000 reservations for the SUV and the pickup truck.

According to the company’s CEO, the move was “absolutely necessary” because the B1 and the B2 still need a lot of development to be ready for the market. On the other hand, the electric chassis has a lot more demand and will help the company grow. When things are more comfortable in terms of revenue, Bollinger can get back to his “babies,” as he refers to both vehicles.

The risk is that the EV market gets so many new options for electric off-roaders that the B1 and B2 will have to offer a lot more to reach a good production scale. Bollinger probably knows that, but the priority is to give his company a stable path for success. At this point, it lies on commercial electric chassis.
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About the author: Gustavo Henrique Ruffo
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Motoring writer since 1998, Gustavo wants to write relevant stories about cars and their shift to a sustainable future.
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