Lightning eMotors Reveals All-New Lightning eChassis for Electric Commercial Vehicles
Lightning eMotors Reveals All-New Lightning eChassis for Electric Commercial Vehicles
- Lightning eMotors becomes first commercial EV manufacturer to offer both new purpose-built vehicles and electrification of legacy OEM platforms
- The proprietary Lightning eChassis supports, on average, 1,500 lbs greater Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) for Class 4/5 commercial vehicles, while fully supporting multiple vocational applications and upfitters’ custom bodies and accessories
- Lightning eMotors expects to be first-to-market with the new purpose-built eChassis to meet the needs of commercial fleets
- Development further augments Lightning eMotors’ chassis options, enhancing the company’s ability to produce and deliver new vehicles at a faster pace
- First units with the new Lightning eChassis expected in Q2 of 2022
LOVELAND, Colo., January 4, 2022 – Lightning eMotors (NYSE: ZEV), a leading provider of medium-duty and specialty commercial electric vehicles for fleets, today announced the availability of the Lightning eChassis, an all-new rolling chassis purpose-built for commercial EV applications.
The Lightning eChassis, developed with Metalsa, will be available for class 4 and class 5 commercial electric chassis cab, stripped chassis, and cutaway chassis configurations. With the addition of the eChassis, Lightning eMotors becomes the first commercial EV manufacturer that can offer both the electrification of existing OEM chassis and purpose-built commercial electric vehicles.
The innovative design accommodates different battery sizes and configurations, different powertrain integrations and different wheelbases – allowing Lightning eMotors to support a wide variety of vocational applications and upfitter partners. Lightning’s eChassis will support an increased Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) of approximately 1,500 pounds more, on average, than platforms on the market today, thereby providing customers the potential to increase passenger and payload capacity for electrified ambulances, shuttle buses, delivery and refrigerated trucks and work trucks.
Lightning eMotors expects pre-production units to be available starting in the second quarter of 2022 with production units expected before the end of the year.
The eChassis will support a range of commercial vehicle applications (artist’s rendering). (Image: D. Bennett, Lightning eMotors)
“This collaboration with Metalsa will allow us to serve areas of the commercial vehicle market that are currently underserved with electrification options,” said Tim Reeser, CEO and Co-Founder of Lightning eMotors. “Bringing this solution to the commercial EV space represents another milestone in our strategy to offer our customers purpose-built, highly-customized zero-emission vehicles that deliver superior performance at a low price.”
Metalsa is a leading provider of structural components and chassis for the automotive and commercial vehicle industries. The company’s products are built to meet and exceed the industry’s highest strength, weight, safety and quality standards. Additionally, their proven background in high-volume manufacturing means they have experience to scale up in support of growing market demand.
“We’re thrilled to be collaborating with Lightning eMotors to design, develop, integrate and assemble this first-of-its-kind flexible chassis, purpose-built to support the growing demand in the industry,” commented Joe El-Behairy, President, e-Mobility Growth Business Unit at Metalsa. “Lightning’s commitment to innovation and putting high quality vehicles on the road quickly makes them the perfect customer to introduce this product. The platform is designed to accommodate the evolving technology and ever-changing product requirements in the market. We are confident that this new rolling chassis, combined with our integration capabilities and ability to scale manufacturing rapidly, will support Lightning’s growth plans.”
At a time when the industry continues to face supply constraints, the Lightning eChassis will contribute to Lightning eMotors’ planned increase in production in 2022.
“One of the most exciting aspects of our partnership with Metalsa is the control it gives us over our chassis supply chain,” said Chelsea Ramm, Vice President, Global Supply Chain for Lightning eMotors. “Constraints on the automotive supply chain have impacted the entire EV market. The Lightning eChassis provides our customers with additional options and the flexible architecture to accommodate a variety of different powertrain needs and wheelbases.”
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://lightningmotors.nerdstaging.com.
About Metalsa:
Metalsa is a global Mexican company with more than 60 years of experience in the automotive industry, manufactures safe and sustainable mobility structures for people around the world, seeking to minimize the environmental impact through the innovation of its processes and products. Currently, Metalsa supplies the global market with manufacturing plants, offices and technology centers worldwide in countries such as Argentina, Brazil, India, Japan, Mexico, Thailand, and the USA. It also offers Just in Time services in sequencing centers located in strategic areas close to its customers. With this international presence, Metalsa can effectively fulfill and carry out locally the global customer strategies. For additional information, visit http://www.metalsa.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, statements regarding Lightning eMotors’ expectation that it will be first-to-market with the eChassis, the expected increase in payload or passenger capacity provided by the eChassis, the expected timing and availability of the pre-production units and production units of vehicles employing the eChassis, Lightning eMotors’ planned increase in production in 2022, and its 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 increases in costs or shortage of materials required to develop and manufacture the eChassis; (iv) the potential severity, magnitude and duration of the COVID-19 pandemic as it affects the business operations, global supply chains, financial results and position of Lightning eMotors and on the U.S. and global economy; (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; and (viii) market acceptance of new product offerings and whether this will be a catalyst for others to purchase 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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