Mullen Automotive Inc. (Nasdaq: MULN) has made unusual claims to Wall Street in recent weeks.
It’s promising GAAP revenue of $75 million over the next six months, citing “sales programs and pilot programs.” The electric vehicle startup has reported very little in sales – $99,000 for the nine months ended June 30.
At the same time, it’s looking to cut spending. On Oct. 7, the Brea-based company announced it would reduce $5.5 million in overall spending from its current $12.8 million as of this month.
Mullen plans to accomplish this by executing a 20% reduction in headcount across its operations, eliminating the program for its only passenger vehicle and consolidating company facilities via lease terminations and subleasing.
Wall Street has long been dubious about the company’s claims. The share price has plummeted 99% in the past three months alone. Mullen, which says it’s a target of short traders driving down its share price, has a $13 million market cap.
The company, which manufactures electric trucks and cargo vans, has an estimated 300-plus employees at Mullen’s headquarters in Brea and its two U.S. vehicle plants. One is in Tunica, Mississippi, running 120,000 square feet, with another in Mishawaka, Indiana, spanning 650,000 square feet.
As for the Mullen Five passenger vehicle, the EV crossover model originally debuted in mid-2023 with a top speed of over 200 mph and acceleration from 0-60 mph in under two seconds, according to officials.
The EV maker expects to ramp up to a $12.5 million average per month in revenue with these reductions to reach its $75 million goal in the next six months. The company says that not only will Mullen commercial sales drive such growth but opportunities from its subsidiary Bollinger Motors will as well.
Bollinger recently started production on its 2025 Bollinger B4 chassis cab.
“As Bollinger focuses on B4 ramp up production volume and Mullen’s commercial vehicle sales momentum continues, I remain confident that through continued focus on revenue growth and expense reduction, our near term cash flow will continue to improve,” Chairman and Chief Executive David Michery said in a statement.
The company said it expects to achieve breakeven on a cash basis by the end of 2025.
“We are going into the remainder of 2024 with strong momentum, and I am focused on closing out the calendar year on an extremely positive trajectory,” Michery said.
Last Thursday, Mullen regained compliance with the minimum bid price requirement from Nasdaq after falling below $1 per share late last year.
Completed Deliveries, Production Milestone Declared
In late August, Volt Mobility, a commercial EV leasing firm based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), agreed to acquire 3,000 Class 1 and Class 3 EV cargo vans and trucks from Mullen for $210 million.
It plans to eventually include Class 4 vehicles from Bollinger also.
The first delivery arrived in Dubai in mid-September. This recent batch of vehicles are the first among 300 scheduled to be delivered to Volt this year with the EV maker receiving an initial $3 million “good faith” deposit.
Additional payments will be made as the remaining 2,700 EVs of the order are received in 2025.
The $210 million is expected to be recognized as revenue over the next 16 months.
Bollinger Motors also reached a milestone in September with production of its first customer-ready B4 electric truck in Livonia, Michigan.
“It’s not every day a start-up vehicle manufacturer gets to celebrate its ascension to full-fledged Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM),” the company said in a press release.
The subsidiary also made its first customer delivery of the B4 chassis cab.
Bollinger delivered five B4s to Nacarato Truck Centers’ LaVergne, Tennessee facility, generating revenue for the manufacturer with a MSRP value of $800,000. Revenue from the Nacarato delivery is recognized for the quarter ended Sept. 30, with wire transfer payment received on the vehicles delivered.
