B.C.-based Vicinity Motor Corp. (VMC), which manufactures a compact electric delivery truck, is partnering with Dealer Solutions Mergers and Acquisitions (DSMA) to find Canadian dealers interested in retailing the product.
VMC is already retailing its 1200 Class 3 trucks in B.C. with Pioneer Auto Group. The trucks, which have a gross vehicle weight rating of 4,990 kilograms, a load capacity of 2,734 kilograms and a range of 241 kilometres, are designed for the last step of a delivery process.
VMC entered into a partnership agreement with DSMA in January to use its expertise to connect with strategic dealers that have experience and processes in place to retail the vehicles.
VMC and DSMA had members of their respective teams in Vaughan at a three-day event this week to showcase the trucks and provide information to dealers.
“We’re a Canadian company and we’re building out in Canada,” said Brent Phillips, VMC’s Senior Director of Sales, in an interview with Canadian auto dealer.
In 2021, VMC debuted the 1200 truck at an international bus show in the U.S. to elicit market response. VMC signed the dealer agreement late in 2022 with Pioneer Auto Group. The plan now is to ramp up production and sign up more Canadian dealers before venturing into the U.S. in 12-18 months.
“It will probably happen faster than we think it will, but I still want to make sure we do it in a measured approach to take care of the customers,” said Phillips. “We’re going to be selecting dealer candidates that are going to be a partner with us because we’re still in the front-end of the technology. It’s going to be absolutely imperative we bring solutions to the table to the customers.”
VMC chose to align with DSMA because it is the largest firm of its kind in North America in terms of volume of transactions.
“Dealers being entrepreneurs want to get into this side and to be leading edge and innovative and sometimes the electric manufacturers are going to the online model versus this,” said Rick Kingdon, DSMA’s Director of Distributors’ Contract Acquisitions.
He said the plan is to identify “the right fit” for fleet dealerships.
“They don’t know about the product necessarily or VMC as a culture, so this (event) is to bring them together,” said Kingdon.
Kingdon said the plan is aligned with 10-12 dealer locations in major metropolises for which the 1200 trucks are best suited.
“You can’t sell electric trucks to somebody that needs to drive about 300 kilometres a day,” said Kingdon. “It’s partners that understand the vehicle and what the customers’ needs are. Some are looking for environmental, social and governance to bring environmentally-friendly vehicles to their consumers. It’s another platform versus just the straight light-duty trucks and things like that.”
