Situation at Bollinger Motors appears more dire by the day
The Detroit Free Press reported on the outstanding payments to employees. The company cites a lack of available funds as the reason for this. The Michigan Department of Labour has 59 outstanding claims against Bollinger for unpaid wages. In addition, according to the report, at least six suppliers have taken legal action to settle overdue invoices totalling more than five million dollars.
“Unfortunately, we were unable to process this week’s payroll as scheduled due to a delay in receiving the expected funds,” the Detroit Free Press quotes from an email dated 31 October from Walter Collins, the current managing director of Bollinger Motors. “At this time, we have not yet received confirmation of funding for the 31 October 2025 payroll. Once the funds are received, we will complete the payroll. I will keep you informed as new information becomes available.” On 6 November, Collins announced in another email that funding was still not secured.
This is not the first time this year that the company has had problems paying salaries. In mid-May, Bollinger Motors was placed under receivership by a US federal judge after the company was no longer able to meet its financial obligations, particularly salaries and payments to suppliers. Although this procedure was terminated in June, the situation has apparently not improved significantly despite several cost-cutting measures.
Bollinger Motors, based in Oak Park, Michigan, was founded in 2015 by Robert Bollinger with the aim of building robust, zero-emission vehicles for commercial customers. The company developed the B1 and B2 electric models (SUV and pickup) as well as the B4, an electric truck with a gross vehicle weight rating of up to 7.2 tonnes. In 2022, the company decided to focus solely on commercial vehicles. However, production of the B4 was halted in January because Bollinger had not paid invoices totalling $1.8 million to its contract manufacturer.
Robert Bollinger had already sold the majority of his shares in Mullen Automotive in 2022 and has since left the company. However, there is still a connection: in March this year, Robert Bollinger sued the company he once founded after a loan of $10 million was not repaid.
Update 02 December 2025
After struggling electric truck manufacturer Bollinger Motors revealed that its financial situation was coming to a head, the company has now apparently given up: according to emails from Bollinger’s head of human resources, Helen Watson, which were reviewed by the Detroit Free Press, the company’s last day of business was 21 November.
“We received word late last night that the day has arrived, we are to officially close the doors of Bollinger Motors, effective today, November 21st, 2025,” the email read.
Bollinger currently has 59 claims of unpaid wages open with the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity, which the company has clearly not been able to catch up to. These claims are still being addressed, however, as Watson added in the email: “I am working on creating checks for the 10/31/2025 payroll and believe they will be in hand on Monday. It is the end of an era, but one you should all be very proud of.”
This article was first published by Sebastian Schaal for electrive’s German edition.
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