Bollinger Motors revives B1 and B2 — albeit slowly

Robert Bollinger's dream of building his own brand of rugged, electric off-road vehicles may come true after all.

Work stopped on the boxy, electric B1 SUV and B2 pickup last year when Bollinger Motors changed direction and focused solely on creating an electric work trucks, Class 4 and above, for fleet operators.

With that project nearing completion, Bollinger engineers are once again working on developing the SUV and pickup. The company's priority, however, remains getting the B4 Class 4 truck into production because that will pay the bills, Robert Bollinger told Automotive News.

"The B1 team is starting right now. We got to a pretty good point with the body work and stamping before we paused. We're bringing all that back and the work is continuing," Bollinger said.

He said there is no timeline for when the vehicles, which are reminiscent of classic International Harvester Scout and Land Rover Series I and II off-road vehicles, could be in production.

Bollinger, when asked if the project is on a front burner, said "it's on a burner. Priority one is getting the B4 into production."

The B1 and B2 made an impressive early splash five years ago, attracting thousands of deposits. But Bollinger had difficulty raising funds to complete its development and lining up a contract manufacturer. The company also attempted to do all the engineering in-house. Now, Robert Bollinger said, the plan has changed.

"There will be more working with outside engineering firms," he said. "We want to focus our concentration on the commercial side of the business."