- Expanded partnership will accelerate repowering of Forest
River shuttle buses and passenger vans across the U.S.
- There are currently more than 50,000 shuttle buses and vans
eligible for the program
- Lightning eMotors and Forest River expect rising demand for
zero-emission passenger vans and shuttles will continue in
2022
- Repowering gas and diesel-powered commercial vehicles with an
electric powertrain provides all the benefits of electrification,
with updated technology and greater driver/passenger comfort and
features
Lightning eMotors (NYSE: ZEV), a leading provider of medium-duty
and specialty commercial electric vehicles for fleets, today
announced it has expanded its partnership with Forest River to
offer a factory-certified all-electric repower program for shuttle
buses and passenger vans. Forest River is a Berkshire Hathaway
Company that manufactures shuttle buses, recreational vehicles,
cargo trailers, utility trailers and pontoon boats, and is the
dominant manufacturer of shuttle buses across US and Canada.
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More than 50,000 existing
gasoline-powered class 4 shuttle buses are eligible to be repowered
with Lightning eMotors electric powertrains. (Photo: Forest River
Bus)
Repowering gas and diesel-powered commercial vehicles has been
common practice for many years since the chassis and body often
outlast the powertrains, while repowering vehicles with electric
powertrains remains a largely untapped opportunity for many fleet
operators.
There are currently more than 50,000 Forest River shuttle buses
and passenger vans across the U.S. and Canada that are eligible for
this program. Many of those buses have been highly customized with
wheel-chair lifts, roof-top air conditioners and other equipment.
Repowering these vehicles not only reduces emissions, it also
preserves the prior investment and extends the life of the vehicle
all while reducing costs for the customer.
“There have been attempts by smaller and early-stage EV
technology companies to repower gasoline and diesel buses to
electric, but fleets have been hesitant to invest in these
third-party, unauthorized and unproven solutions,” Lightning
eMotors CEO Tim Reeser said. “With the Forest River and Lightning
eMotors’ factory-certified repower program fleets can be assured
they will get a proven and reliable solution backed by two
established companies that will stand behind the offering and
support the vehicles through their second life.”
The Forest River factory-certified powertrains and installation
will be backed by a five-year, 100,000-mile warranty. Additionally,
Lightning Energy will provide Forest River dealers and customers
with customized charging and microgrid energy solutions, including
Lightning’s Mobile Battery Vehicle Charging solutions to ensure
customers have the necessary infrastructure to support fast ramp-up
of their zero-emission fleets.
This expanded agreement comes after Lightning and Forest River
announced in 2021 an $850 million, multi-year strategic partnership
to build up to 7,500 zero-emission Class 4 and Class 5 buses.
"We expect that our new repower program with Lightning will be
welcomed by our dealers because it is being introduced as the
commercial bus industry continues to grapple with a production
shortage caused by supply chain issues in the broader automotive
market,” said Forest River Bus president David Wright. “Lightning’s
zero-emission powertrain provides our customers with an updated
powertrain that is not only more sustainable and more efficient
than the gasoline engine that is being replaced, but also provides
the latest safety and driver technology on a platform that is
serviceable and highly customized for their needs.”
“This agreement is further demonstration of David Wright’s deep
commitment to meeting Forest River’s customer demands for
leading-edge, sustainable transportation,” continued Reeser. “I am
proud to be partnered with a company with such focus and
determination, and willingness to find solutions for their
customers.”
Lightning eMotors has been repowering gasoline and diesel
vehicles since 2009, and its vehicles have exceeded more than
1,250,000 all-electric miles as customer and market demand
continues to increase.
“Commercial vehicles have been repowered since their
inception—as most are highly specialized and their chassis and
bodies outlast their powertrains. Even electric commercial vehicles
will need to be repowered in the future,” said Kash Sethi, chief
revenue officer for Lightning eMotors. “This certified repower
program is not only cost-effective but provides a reliable and
sustainable solution for many shuttle buses and passenger vans on
the road today, providing the vehicles with years of additional
life while reducing emissions in our communities.”
About Lightning eMotors
Lightning eMotors (NYSE: ZEV) has been providing specialized and
sustainable fleet solutions since 2009, deploying complete
zero-emission-vehicle (ZEV) solutions for commercial fleets since
2018 – including Class 3 cargo and passenger vans, ambulances,
Class 4 and 5 cargo vans and shuttle buses, Class 4 Type A school
buses, Class 6 work trucks, Class 7 city buses, and Class A motor
coaches. The Lightning eMotors team designs, engineers, customizes,
and manufactures zero-emission vehicles to support the wide array
of fleet customer needs with a full suite of control software,
telematics, analytics, and charging solutions to simplify the
buying and ownership experience and maximize uptime and energy
efficiency. To learn more, visit our website at
https://lightningemotors.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within
the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995, as amended. Such forward-looking statements include, but are
not limited to, potential future repower deployments, potential
future repower sales opportunities and Lightning eMotors’
expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions, plans, prospects or
strategies regarding the future business plans. Any statements
contained herein that are not statements of historical fact may be
deemed to be forward-looking statements. In addition, any
statements that refer to projections, forecasts or other
characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any
underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. The words
“anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,”
“intends,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,”
“predict,” “project,” “should,” “would” and similar expressions may
identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words
does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. The
forward-looking statements contained in this press release are
based on certain assumptions and analyses made by the management of
Lightning eMotors in light of their respective experience and
perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected
future developments and their potential effects on Lightning
eMotors as well as other factors they believe are appropriate in
the circumstances. There can be no assurance that future
developments affecting Lightning eMotors will be those anticipated.
These forward-looking statements contained in this press release
are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions
and other factors that may cause actual results or outcomes to be
materially different from any future results or outcomes expressed
or implied by the forward-looking statements. These risks,
uncertainties, assumptions and other factors include, but are not
limited to: (i) those related to Lightning eMotors’ operations and
business and financial performance; (ii) the ability of Lightning
eMotors to execute on its business strategy and grow demand for its
products and revenue; (iii) the potential cost associated with
repowers; (iv) the potential for financing opportunities associated
with repowers; (v) current market conditions and federal, state,
and local laws, regulations and government incentives, particularly
those related to the commercial electric vehicle market; (vi) the
size and growth of the markets in which Lightning eMotors operates;
(vii) the mix of products utilized by Lightning eMotors’ customers
and such customers’ needs for these products; (viii) market
acceptance of repowers and whether this will be a catalyst for
others to purchase electric vehicles and (ix) the rate at which
customers deploy our electric vehicles. These and other risks are
described more fully in Lightning eMotors’ filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission and other documents that it
subsequently files with the SEC from time to time. Moreover,
Lightning eMotors operates in a competitive and rapidly changing
environment, and new risks may emerge from time to time. You should
not put undue reliance on any forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements should not be read as a guarantee of
future performance or results and will not necessarily be accurate
indications of the times at, or by, which such performance or
results will be achieved, if at all. Should one or more of these
risks or uncertainties materialize or should any of the assumptions
being made prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material
respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements.
Lightning eMotors undertakes no obligation to update or revise any
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise, except as may be required under
applicable securities laws.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220328005229/en/
Lightning eMotors’ News Media Contact: Nick Bettis (800)
223-0740 pressrelations@lightningemotors.com
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