When we last checked in with our friends at Bollinger Motors, it was in their old headquarters in Ferndale, Michigan. There, we had a chance to meet the firm’s two spearheads in the EV truck wars, the B1 SUV, and the B2 pickup, as well as learn much more about the vision of the company’s founder Robert Bollinger. But with the extra attention and growth that the company has seen recently, it was forced to seek a bigger space to enhance the levels of design and manufacturing that they were capable of doing. This resulted in a move to Oak Park, Michigan which seems to be focused on being a permanent one based on statements we heard from company reps.
Bollinger Motors chose to celebrate the occasion by holding its inaugural Cars & Coffee event, and we had an opportunity to check out the new building first hand (along with some cool classic cars.) Nestled in the industrial sector of Oak Park, the company revealed that it had been looking for a new building to call home for awhile, but the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic forced the company to accelerate those plans due to some of the restrictions that were put in place by Michigan’s governor Gretchen Whitmer. Among those policies was a limit of how many people could be in one space, and while the old Ferndale location was in a growing part of the city, the building’s small dimensions prevented the design and engineering teams from being able to safely spread out.
“We were bursting at the seams with new engineers, putting desks out in the shop at the old building,” said company founder Robert Bollinger. “It was especially difficult to keep everyone more than six feet apart.”
But while the scourge of COVID-19 played a role in accelerating Bollinger’s move to Oak Park, the company hopes the long term rewards offered by the new building will be worth it in the long haul. This’s especially true with the company’s growing lineup, which now includes the ability to make the E-Series Chassis fit a wide range of commercial applications. With some of these including big tow truck and cherry picker style rigs, the bigger shop space was much welcomed by those on Bollinger’s shop floor.
As for the B1 and B2, they are designed for serious off-roading, with the duo being powered by a dual electric motor setup that is good for 614 horsepower and 688 lb-ft of torque. This allows the pair to not only have a towing capacity of 7,500 lbs, but a payload capacity of over 5,000 lbs. An adjustable hydro-pneumatic suspension and portal axles allow the B1 and B2 to tackle the rough stuff, while allowing the driver to choose from either 10 or 20 inches of ground clearance. Bollinger representatives also confirmed that buyers will be able to choose from colors other than the flat black that we have seen on some of their prototypes, but revealed they are still trying to figure out which hues will be offered, so look for a more formal announcement on that in the future.
The Bollinger B1 and B2 are slated to begin production early next year alongside their underlying E-Chassis platform. The models will have a base price of $125,000, with options and extras raising the price accordingly. The B2 Chassis Cab will start production at the same time, but Bollinger did not release formal pricing for some of the configurations that will be available.
Carl Malek has been an automotive journalist for over 10 years. First starting out as a freelance photographer before making the transition to writing during college, his work has appeared on numerous automotive forums as well as websites such as Autoshopper.com.
Carl is also a big fan of British vehicles with the bulk of his devotion going to the Morgan Motor Company as well as offerings from Lotus, MG, and Caterham. When he is not writing about automobiles, Carl enjoys spending time with his family and friends in the Metro Detroit area, as well as spending time with his adorable pets.