Forest River, Inc. will enter into a strategic partnership agreement to build final assembly of products based on Lightning eMotors’ electric powertrains.
Final assembly will be conducted at Forest River’s Goshen, Indiana, factory. The companies estimated the potential value of the agreement at $850 million over the next four-and-a-half years.
The Class 4 and Class 5 all-electric passenger buses will feature gross vehicle weight ratings ranging from 14,500 pounds to 19,500 pounds.
“This has the potential to be the largest contract ever in the electric shuttle bus market, and we believe it will be the catalyst for other large commercial vehicle OEMs and fleets to accelerate their adoption of commercial electric vehicles,” said Tim Reeser, Lightning eMotors CEO.
“We decided to work with Lightning eMotors after several years of extensive research because of their market and technology leadership in the commercial EV segment,” said David Wright, president of Forest River’s bus divisions. “I was especially impressed after visiting their manufacturing facility in Colorado, driving their vehicles and talking to their customers.
“We will be providing our customers with a factory-installed electric powertrain that has proven technology relied upon by major fleets, at a price point no one else has been able to achieve,” Wright said. “We believe this will be a game-changer for shuttle-bus operators.”
Forest River is the leading shuttle bus market producer in North America, with eight manufacturing buildings and more than 500,000 square feet of production space. The company plans to dedicate 100,000 square feet to install Lightning eMotors’ powertrains and deploy up to 7,500 zero-emission shuttle buses.
“Forest River’s family of shuttle bus companies, including top name brands like Starcraft, Glaval, and Champion, maintain a dominant market position selling over 10,000 units per year in the Class 4 to 6 shuttle-bus space,” Reeser said. “Forest River’s sales volumes allow us to provide a price point to their dealers and customers that results in a very compelling ROI.”
The buses will feature battery configurations from 80kWh to more than 160kWh using industry-leading battery thermal management systems. These vehicles support ranges on a single charge between 80 and 160 miles and can recharge over a lunch break using Lightning eMotors’ DC fast charge infrastructure with integrated vehicle-to-grid (V2G) capabilities.
All vehicles will be compliant with the Federal Transit Administration’s “Buy America” and the Federal Aviation Administration’s “Buy American” guidelines.
“Forest River is demonstrating it will continue being the leader in the commercial bus market by offering sustainable zero-emission buses as part of their core product portfolio,” Lightning eMotors Chief Revenue Officer Kash Sethi said. “We believe that will greatly improve the availability of premium-quality, cost-effective electric buses.”
Forest River’s 100-plus North American bus dealership locations will have the opportunity to sell and service these vehicles. Manufacturing of Forest River Lightning EV shuttles has begun, and Forest River expects to deliver several dozens of the new electric shuttle buses to its dealerships by the end of this year.
Lightning eMotors’ charging division, Lightning Energy, will offer charging and charging infrastructure-related products and services to Forest River dealers and shuttle-bus operators.
