Nexen secures OE fitment with EV 'skateboard' startup Canoo

RICHFIELD, Ohio — Nexen Tire Corp. has secured an OE supply position with Canoo Inc., the Los Angeles-based company that's developing an innovative electric-vehicle platform designed for the emerging shared/autonomous transportation sector.

Founded in December 2017 by a group of experienced automotive executives and engineers, Canoo sees vehicle development moving away from the traditional three box car design — separate compartments for the engine, passengers and luggage — and instead is embracing a "minimalist" skateboard-type design that maximizes interior space.

Canoo has stated its first vehicle — due on the market in 2021 — will have the exterior footprint of a compact car, with the interior space of a large SUV.

Canoo's "skateboard" architecture will house a battery and electric drivetrain that it claims will be able to achieve a range of up to 300 miles. All of Canoo's vehicles will share the same underpinning with different cabin designs — or "top hats" — mounted on top to create the four unique vehicles.

Leveraging the same fixed and flat skateboard allows for reduced research and development costs, efficient production and a better use of interior space, Canoo said. The skateboard houses the most expensive components of the vehicle and is designed in a way that eliminates most repeated crash testing per vehicle, reducing the vehicle's development cycle timeline and costs.

Nexen has developed a EV-optimized version of its Roadian GTX grand touring tire for the Canoo project, that incorporates Canoo's requirements for puncture resistance, rolling resistance, handling, weather and safety, the company said in a recent Twitter post.

At the Consumer Electronics Show 2020 in Las Vegas, a Canoo chassis was on display with the tires fitted, in size 195/55R20. The EV version of the GTX was designed in part at Nexen's U.S. tech center in Richfield, which opened in late 2019.