Photo: Forest River Bus
Lightning eMotors, a provider of medium-duty and specialty commercial electric vehicles for fleets, 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.
Repowering gas and diesel-powered commercial vehicles has been common practice 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 eligible for the program. Many of those buses have been highly customized with wheel-chair lifts, roof-top air conditioners and other equipment. Repowering these vehicles reduces emissions, preserves the prior investment, and extends the life of the 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 says. “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. 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.