Lightning eMotors Inc (ZEVY)

[WeTheMarket]

Lightning eMotors and Ricardo Sign Strategic Partnership to Provide Commercial Electric Vehicles to United Kingdom Customers
- Lightning to deliver its best-in-class electric powertrains, software, and components to support deployment of commercial electric vehicles (EVs) to fleets in the UK
- Ricardo, a global environmental, engineering, and strategic consulting company headquartered in the UK, will provide supply chain and certification of roadworthiness support, as well as powertrain installation and integration services in the UK
- bp Ventures, Lightning’s largest investor, will provide fleet management expertise through bp Pulse, one of the largest electric vehicle charging companies in the UK
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211005005343/en/Lightning-eMotors-and-Ricardo-Sign-Strategic-Partnership-to-Provide-Commercial-Electric-Vehicles-to-United-Kingdom-Customers

October 05, 2021 08:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time
LOVELAND, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ricardo and Lightning eMotors (NYSE: ZEV), a leading provider of medium duty commercial electric vehicles for fleets, today announced they have entered into a strategic partnership agreement to deploy vehicles in the UK, a market with over 700,000 commercial vehicles in operation today.

“With fuel prices that are more than double that of the US, and Zero Emission Zones in London and other cities that charge a daily fee to non-zero-emission vehicles, this market will be one of the fastest growing Commercial ZEV markets in the world.”

The agreement calls for Lightning eMotors to build fully electric powertrains at their 231,000 square foot facility in Loveland, Colorado for shipment to the UK. Ricardo will then assemble and integrate those powertrains into medium duty commercial fleet vehicles at one of its state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in the UK. Ricardo will also source key components for the EV assembly from UK manufacturers, leveraging the company’s world-renowned expertise in managing complex supply chains in critical electric vehicle components.

bp’s Pulse division is able to support this partnership by offering fast charging through its existing network of 7,000 chargers in the UK and deploying charging and microgrid solutions for these customers.

“The UK market is especially well-suited for commercial vehicle electrification because the return on investment for fleets is so fast,” said Tim Reeser, CEO of Lightning eMotors. “With fuel prices that are more than double that of the US, and Zero Emission Zones in London and other cities that charge a daily fee to non-zero-emission vehicles, this market will be one of the fastest growing Commercial ZEV markets in the world.”

Reeser continued, “With Ricardo’s automotive expertise and facilities, we will have electric commercial vehicles assembled and running in UK fleets in 2022.”

Lightning eMotors powertrains support commercial vehicles ranging from class 3 vans to class 6 trucks to class 8 motor coaches. The powertrains will feature battery configurations from 80 kWh to more than 600 kWh using industry-leading lithium-ion battery technology with liquid thermal management systems. These vehicles support ranges on a single charge between 60 and more than 200 miles and can recharge over a lunch break using Lightning eMotors’ DC fast charge infrastructure with integrated vehicle-to-grid (V2G) capabilities. Other features include a modern digital-dash display, hill-hold functionality for safety, advanced telematics, analytics, and a mobile app for drivers and fleet managers.

“Ricardo is the trusted engineering services provider for the world’s leading automotive OEMs,” said Marques McCammon, Global Managing Director, Ricardo Automotive & Industrial. “We are pleased to be applying our expertise in systems integration, providing supply chain and certification of roadworthiness support, as well as powertrain installation and integration services in the UK. This will help fleet electrification become more affordable, encouraging wider adoption.”

About Lightning eMotors

Lightning eMotors has been providing specialized and sustainable fleet solutions since 2009, deploying complete ZEV solutions for commercial fleets since 2018 – including Class 3 cargo and passenger vans, Class 4 and 5 cargo vans and shuttle buses, Class 6 work trucks, school buses, 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 including school buses and ambulances, 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. Lightning eMotors also offers charging technologies and “Charging as a Service” (CaaS) to commercial and government fleets via its Lightning Energy division. To learn more, visit https://lightningemotors.com.

About Ricardo

Ricardo plc is a world-class environmental, engineering and strategic consulting company listed on the London Stock Exchange. With over 100 years of engineering excellence, we provide exceptional levels of expertise in delivering leading edge and innovative cross sector sustainable products and solutions, helping our global customers increase efficiencies, achieve growth and create a cleaner and safer future. Our mission is clear – to create a world fit for the future.

For more information visit www.ricardo.com

About bp ventures

bp ventures was set up more than 10 years ago to identify and invest in private, high growth, game-changing technology companies, accelerating innovation across the entire energy spectrum. Since then, bp has invested almost $700 million in technology companies across more than 31 active investments with more than 250 co-investors. bp ventures focuses on connecting and growing new energy business. It makes strategic equity investments across a portfolio of relevant technology businesses including advanced mobility, low carbon and digital. For more information visit: https://www.bp.com/en/global/bp-ventures.html