UPDATE: Polestar contacted InsideEVs to inform us that Autonomy has not placed any Polestar fleet orders nor any volume orders through Polestar's retailer network, despite claims that appear to run contrary to this in Autonomy's press material.
Autonomy, America's largest electric vehicle subscription company, today announced it has placed an order for 23,000 EVs with 17 global automakers to expand and diversify its fleet beyond Tesla.
Valued at $1.2 billion, the fleet order includes 45 electric vehicle models from 17 automakers, including BMW, Canoo, Fisker, Ford, General Motors, Hyundai, Lucid, Mercedes-Benz, Polestar, Rivian, Stellantis, Subaru, Tesla, Toyota, VinFast, Volvo and Volkswagen.
The 23,000-vehicle order represents 1.2 percent of the projected US electric vehicle production through the end of 2023 and Autonomy says it was designed to fit into the forecast production envelopes of each automaker.
"Tesla was certainly the right launch partner for Autonomy given their dominance in the electric vehicle market today. With every automaker going all-in on electric and so many exciting new products coming to market in the next 6 to 18 months, we have placed our fleet order and are excited to expand our subscription lineup and make it easier for consumers to make the transition to electric."
Scott Painter, founder and CEO of Autonomy
Speaking of Tesla, it makes up more than one-third of the $1.2 billion order—$443 million for 8,300 vehicles—with GM getting the second biggest order ($138.7 million for 3,400 vehicles) and Volkswagen the third ($106.9 million for 2,200 vehicles). Other sizable orders were placed by Autonomy to Ford ($88 million for 1,800 vehicles), Hyundai ($73.8 million for 1,640 vehicles) and Rivian ($72 million for 1,000 vehicles)—check out the table at the bottom of the page for the full breakdown.
According to Autonomy, the primary selection criteria for the order were the following:
- MSRP Range: $26,595 to $122,440
- Battery Range: 250 miles minimum (with some exceptions)
- Telematics: Fully connected
- Production Forecasts: Vehicle will be available to purchase before the end of 2023
- Residual Values: Models with highest projected resale values
The company says it will leverage its recently announced national partnership with AutoNation for the acquisition and intake of the majority of these vehicles. The US retailer will provide vehicle preparation, delivery services, and subscriber activation, as well as maintenance, repair, and reconditioning services for Autonomy's growing subscription fleet of electric vehicles.
Currently, Autonomy only offers Tesla Model 3 and Model Y vehicles but will soon add the full Tesla lineup.
