What you need to know:
- Robert Bollinger buys back Bollinger Motors assets with Ohio court approval, securing key electric vehicle intellectual property for $248,300
- Deal includes B1, B2, and B4 electric trucks along with critical EV prototypes and manufacturing equipment from Michigan headquarters
- Court rejects competing bid and backs Bollinger as the best buyer for the company's specialized EV assets
- Bollinger Motors collapse leaves uncertain future despite past momentum during the EV investment boom
Robert Bollinger, founder and former CEO of Michigan-based electric vehicle startup Bollinger Motors—which collapsed financially last November—has announced plans to repurchase the company's original intellectual property, prototypes, and assets for just under $250,000, following approval from an Ohio judge.
The precise cost? $248,300.
[Related: A quick spin in Bollinger's B4 class 4 battery-electric chassis cab]
Per The Detroit News (subscription required):
Bollinger's purchase includes the company's core intellectual property and prototypes of its original B1 and B2 electric off-roaders, one of its B4 commercial trucks that ultimately went into production, and various other office and shop equipment from Bollinger Motors' headquarters in Oak Park (Michigan), according to a filing in Ohio's Lucas County Common Pleas Court.
Mr. Bollinger was not the only interested party in his old company's assets.
Also from The Detroit News:
Lawyers for the court-appointed receiver, Gene Kohut, wrote in a recent filing that there had been several interested parties in the company's assets, but Robert Bollinger had the "highest and best offer." He was also likely the only viable purchaser for much of the equipment and vehicles, considering "their highly specialized nature and limited scope."
One company that is owed money by Bollinger Motors, Aibond, objected to the sale to Robert Bollinger, saying in a letter to the judge that the purchase price of just $248,300 seemed low and noting that the value of just one B4 truck would exceed $125,000; the trucks originally had a list price above $150,000.
But the receiver disputed that estimate. Even the $22,000 price that Robert Bollinger will get the vehicle for "likely exceeds the fair market value of the B4 Truck," a filing said.
Clean Trucking has reached out to Mr. Bollinger for additional comment and we'll update this space if a response is received.
Judge clears path forward
This is the latest development for the company that rode the EV investment surge from 2020 through 2024, selling a majority stake for about $150 million before financial headwinds caught up, and ultimately forcing it shutter its doors. It was not the outcome Mr. Bollinger nor any of the company's employees wanted. So does this latest news mean there's hope for a revival?
Nothing is for certain right now, as Mr. Bollinger, who stepped away from the company in 2024, is still studying his options, which is something he made clear in a recent LinkedIn post:
"Last week, an Ohio judge approved my purchase of the original Bollinger Motors intellectual property, prototypes, and assets—both consumer and commercial," Mr. Bollinger wrote. "It was twelve years of hard work, big dreams, and humbling lessons. The best part was working alongside some of the most talented people I've ever known. Engineers, designers, fabricators, operators—people who showed up every day and gave everything they had to build something that had never existed before. I am forever grateful to every single one of them."
The court-appointed receiver also rejected a bid from Bollinger Innovations to acquire Bollinger Motors' assets through a credit offer, noting the company failed to demonstrate any valid secured interest in those assets.
Bollinger's slow unraveling
Bollinger's financial problems have been well documented.
The company had only just exited court-ordered receivership last summer, a period during which its assets were frozen amid a lawsuit brought by founder and former CEO Robert Bollinger. He alleged the business owed him $10.5 million tied to a personal loan he had provided.
[Related: Bollinger Motors CEO provides update following judge-ordered receivership]
In September 2022, California-based Mullen Technologies stepped in, acquiring a controlling stake for $148 million. By June, it had expanded that stake to 95%, wiping out Bollinger's debt in the process. Mullen also settled Mr. Bollinger's lawsuit, clearing the way for the receivership to be lifted and normal operations to resume.
By July, Mullen Automotive—rebranded as Bollinger Innovations—appeared to be on solid footing, even moving to acquire battery assets from now-bankrupt Nikola Motors for an undisclosed sum.
That optimism ended just before last Thanksgiving.
What's next for Bollinger?
For now, the full revival of Bollinger Motors does not appear to be imminent. Robert Bollinger will control his newly-acquired IPs and related property—including forklifts, computers, signage, and other equipment—through another LLC he founded in late 2025 called Robert Bollinger Design.
[Related: Deeply discounted Bollinger B4 trucks surface after company collapse]
He is now leasing a facility near the company's original headquarters in Oak Park, Michigan, about 20 minutes outside of Detroit.
The company announced a few years ago it was dropping plans for the B1 and B2 off-road-focused passenger EVs in favor of battery-electric commercial vehicles like the Class 4 B4 chassis cab. Plans for the larger B5 commercial truck were also proceeding. Whether any of the four could still get the production greenlight remains unknown but at least the company's founder now has back the core of what he started over a decade ago.
