Bollinger Motors is in serious trouble. According to the Detroit Free Press, the Oak Park, Michigan-based commercial EV manufacturer has stopped paying its bills, with employees claiming they haven’t been paid in weeks. The company’s COO first sent an email to employees in late October, explaining that they were unable to make payroll; a follow-up message a week later (Nov. 6) indicated that the problem had still not been resolved—meaning employees have now gone unpaid for more than six weeks.
We’re in the process of confirming exactly what is happening at Bollinger, but according to a tipster who contacted us directly, there’s more to this than a simple payroll issue. We’re being told that its local management has been removed and that the company has completely run out of cash:
“Bollinger Motors of Oak Park, Michigan and its parent company Bollinger Innovations have completely collapsed,” our tipster told us via email. “All Michigan based senior leadership has been forced out.”
“Employees payroll is weeks behind, with nothing answers being given to employees,” our tipster continued. “There is no operating cash left, and customers/dealers are being lied to.”
That would be bad news for any business operation, but given what Bollinger has gone through this year, it’s a particularly alarming development. When we ran a story this past spring about the company going down in flames, it was widely reported that Bollinger was already short of cash.
Our visit to the manufacturer in July revealed an operation with no shortage of ambition—and an equally impressive surplus of empty desks. With the current political headwinds facing EVs, perhaps this was inevitable. We will update this story when we learn more.
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