Electric vehicle subscription company Autonomy has placed a $1.2 billion fleet order for 23,000 EVs from 17 automakers across the world to broaden its subscription fleet.

When Autonomy launched its EV subscription platform less than a year ago, it began by offering the Tesla Model 3, later adding the Model Y, with additional models from the automaker set to be included.  

Then late last month, it announced a partnership with AutoNation to help scale the EV subscription platform, both in terms of geography and product offerings.

Tuesday’s move, the moving pieces of which AutoNation will help facilitate, begins a major step towards that expansion that will roll out over the next year-and-a-half.

The Autonomy placed the order for the near-23,000 EVs — which includes 45 different models — with the respective fleet departments of:

BMW
Canoo
Fisker
Ford
General Motors
Hyundai  
Lucid
Mercedes-Benz
Polestar
Rivian
Stellantis
Subaru
Tesla
Toyota
VinFast
Volvo
Volkswagen

The order will be rolled out gradually between now and the fourth quarter of 2023. Autonomy said the order comprises 1.2% of the expected EV production total in the U.S. through the end of 2023 and was set up to align with the respectieve automakers' forecasted production envelopes.

As show in the table in the window above, the order begins in the third quarter with 3,250 vehicles, the majority from Tesla and GM, with some coming from Hyundai.

Each quarter will scale up from there, with additional vehicles and automakers being added to the mix.

“Tesla was certainly the right launch partner for Autonomy given their dominance in the electric vehicle market today,” Autonomy founder and chief executive officer Scott Painter said in a news release.

“With every automaker going all-in on electric and so many exciting new products coming to market in the next six to 18 months, we have placed our fleet order and are excited to expand our subscription lineup and make it easier for consumers to make the transition to electric,” he said.

Vehicles in the order will have an MSRP range between $26,595 and $122,440, and include a minimum battery range of 250 miles, with some exceptions.

Also included in the criteria are the vehicles having fully connected telematics, being available to purchase for the end of next year and the highest projected resale values.

In terms of AutoNation’s role in the order, the retailer will help handle most of the acquisition and intake of the vehicles. AutoNation is preparing the vehicles, providing delivery services and activating subscribers. The retailer is also offering maintenance, repair and reconditioning services for Autonomy’s EV fleet.

Autonomy has set up order fulfillment so that vehicle deliveries will happen at the AutoNation franchise dealerships and AutoNation USA used-car stores closest to the OEM distribution centers in areas with the largest EV registration density.

“Electric vehicles cost far more than gas-powered vehicles and most consumers will simply not make the switch to an EV without highly compelling value propositions,” Painter said.

“Autonomy subscriptions deliver an easier and more affordable way to get an EV, and this is why we believe that subscriptions will be the predominant contract by which consumers adopt electric vehicles from every automaker.”