The impact and history of autos in Detroit, The Motor City
Here are some facts about Detroit’s auto industry.
- Bollinger Motors officials told employees that Nov. 21 was the last day in business for the company, emails reviewed by the Free Press show.
- The closure comes after other communications revealed the company could not meet payroll.
- The EV maker’s parent company, Bollinger Innovations, delisted from the Nasdaq Composite stock market index in October.
Bollinger Motors, an Oak Park-based electric vehicle start-up, is closing after a long slog of poor performance, never quite getting off the ground.
According to emails reviewed by the Detroit Free Press, sent by Bollinger’s Human Resources Director, Helen Watson, the embattled EV maker’s last day of business was Friday, Nov. 21.
“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 from Watson said.
On Wednesday, Nov. 19, the Free Press reported that Bollinger was struggling to meet payroll. The EV maker currently has 59 claims of unpaid wages pending with the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity, a department spokesperson confirmed.
Days later, the company is shuttering operations.
Watson told employees in the email that David Michery, the CEO of Bollinger Innovations (Bollinger Motors’ parent company), will “make us whole with regards to the remaining monies” that went unpaid as the company missed payroll for the last two pay periods.
“I am working on creating checks for the 10/31/2025 payroll and believe they will be in hand on Monday,” Watson wrote. “It is the end of an era but one you should all be very proud of.”
Bollinger Motors’ website, as of late Nov. 21, still reflects the brand’s commitment to building “the most bad-ass electric commercial trucks on the planet.”
Bollinger Motors was founded in 2015 and built vehicles in Livonia, through Roush Industries, and is headquartered in Oak Park.
The company’s site lists a chassis cab truck, the B4, as available for order, as well as two boxy SUV prototypes, the B1 and B2. A larger chassis cab truck, the B5, appears to be slated for release in 2026.
In March, the company’s founder and namesake, Robert Bollinger — who had left the company — sued over a $10 million loan he gave the company the previous October. Robert Bollinger alleged the company was broke and sought a receivership to handle repayment of his loan. The company exited the receivership in June.
At least six suppliers have taken legal action against Bollinger this year to settle more than $5 million in overdue bills, according to Crain’s Detroit Business.
Michery, the CEO of Bollinger’s parent company, took over as the leader of Bollinger Motors in June. Michery rebranded his own California-based EV start-up, Mullen Automotive, to the Bollinger name, pulling all brands under the “Bollinger Innovations” umbrella.
Now Bollinger Motors, the maker of the chassis trucks and SUV prototypes, is closed for good. Bollinger Innovations has not closed.
On Sept. 23, Bollinger Innovations announced via an online news release that it would no longer perform reverse stock splits, a tactic used to amalgamate several cheaper shares of a stock into one more valuable share of a stock, as a method of staying on the Nasdaq Composite stock market index. Bollinger Innovations had undergone at least six reverse stock splits during the last 12 months, according to company announcements.
The company delisted from the Nasdaq Composite stock market index on Oct. 13 after dropping below the threshold of $1 per share.
The Free Press left messages on social media requesting comment from Michery. A phone number attached to Bollinger Innovations news releases delivered an automated message when called, indicating the phone line was not in operation.
Liam Rappleye covers Stellantis and the UAW for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him: [email protected].
