Michigan-based electric truck maker Bollinger Motors has ceased operations, and it’s unclear what’s in store for its parent company, Bollinger Innovations, formerly known as Mullen Automotive. Months of financial challenges came to a head Nov. 19 when the Detroit Free Press reported that the Oak Park, Michigan, company had missed payroll for at least two pay periods. As of Nov. 21, the Detroit Free Press reported that the company had ceased operations, according to company emails.
FreightWaves has reached out to Bollinger Motors and Bollinger Innovations for comment. The phone number for Bollinger Innovations is no longer active at the time of writing. Bollinger Innovations’ most recent update is in an 8-K filing dated Nov. 25, in which the company on Nov. 21 began a cost-cutting plan “aimed at streamlining operations and preserving liquidity.”
As part of the plan, Bollinger Innovations reduced its workforce and is closing its Troy, Michigan office. “These actions are designed to consolidate the remaining employees at the Oak Park facility and align its cost structure with current operating conditions. These actions do not involve the abandonment or discontinuation of any business lines,” the company said.
Additional information for existing customers: As part of the restructuring, Bollinger Innovations has begun notifying its dealer networks of changes to its support model, “including discontinuing factory service and warranty support and consolidating operations into one Oak Park location.”
Bollinger is also evaluating potential dealer-driven programs related to auto and parts purchases and may provide additional updates as these plans develop.
Bollinger Motors’ closing was announced to employees in an internal email from Helen Watson, the company’s director of human resources, obtained by the Detroit Free Press. “We got word late last night that the day has come. We must officially close the doors of Bollinger Motors, effective today, November 21, 2025,” Watson wrote. Watson indicated that David Mechery, CEO of parent company Bollinger Innovations, will try to terminate the employees “with respect to the remaining money” from the lost wages.
Bollinger Motors’ payroll issues were further highlighted in an Oct. 31 email sent by Walter Collins, chief operating officer of Bollinger Motors, who wrote: “Unfortunately, due to delays in receiving expected funds, we were unable to process this week’s payroll as scheduled.” The nonpayment prompted employees to file 70 complaints with the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity, according to Luke Ramseth of the Detroit News.
The shutdown caps a tumultuous year for the maker that billed itself as building the “baddest electric commercial trucks on the planet.” In May 2025, Bollinger took over after a legal dispute with founder Robert Bollinger over unpaid compensation and financial control. Although the company emerged from receivership in June under the leadership of Mullen Automotive, which held a controlling stake of approximately 95%, financial pressures intensified in the second half of the year.
In recent years, the company has shifted from its initial focus on consumer-oriented vehicles to commercial electric vehicles. Jim Connolly, who served as chief revenue officer at Bollinger, explained the strategic shift in a podcast interview with FreightWaves earlier this year: “We started with Robert Bollinger with the B1, the B2, which if you look online is kind of an SUV. And so we were developing that product, we saw a hole in the commercial market that went up to 4 over 5 years ago in the class.”
The closure comes amid wider consolidation in the EV space. In June 2025, Mullen Automotive was renamed Bollinger Innovations and consolidated its operations under the Bollinger name. Bollinger Innovations was delisted from the Nasdaq in October after falling below the $1 per share threshold, following at least six reverse stock splits in the past 12 months.
Bollinger’s failure raises questions about the future of the intellectual property and its assets, including the B4 SUV designs that were available for order at the time of the closing, as well as the planned B5 and B6 models scheduled for future deliveries. The company had established a manufacturing relationship with Roish Industries in Livonia, which it ended in September amid cost-cutting measures. The company recently announced plans to move production to a plant in Tunica, Mississippi.
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