Collins Bus & Lightning eMotors: Expand Type A Electric School Bus Offering

Lightning eMotors, a leading provider of medium-duty and specialty commercial electric vehicles for fleets, and Collins Bus Corporation, an industry leader in manufacturing Type A School Buses and a subsidiary of REV Group, Inc., are excited to announce the expansion of their zero-emission Type A school bus offering to include both GM and Ford chassis platforms.

Expansion of the Lightning eMotors-Collins Bus strategic partnership, first announced last year, comes just two months after the Biden-Harris Administration, through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), announced $5 billion in guaranteed funding for school districts and eligible school bus operators and contractors to begin replacing the nation’s fleet of school buses with clean, American-made, zero-emission buses. The funding is expected to play a critical role in accelerating the adoption of all-electric school buses across the country.

“We’re excited to expand our existing partnership with Collins to include what is widely considered to be the preferred platform for the Type A school bus, the GM 4500,” Lightning eMotors CEO Tim Reeser said. “By providing both GM and Ford-class 4 options for Collins Bus, we are now able to mitigate the chassis constraints currently being experienced in the marketplace and accelerate delivery of zero-emission vehicles to the districts that so desperately need them.”

In addition to EPA funding and state-level initiatives, the environmental and health benefits of reduced tailpipe emissions and current economic realities make electric school buses an even more appealing option. At a time when interest rates, fuel prices, and the costs of parts and labor for repairs are at all-time highs, electric buses use no fuel and require less maintenance, thereby reducing the total cost of ownership when replacing aging diesel buses or adding to school bus fleets.

“We have been extremely happy with how our customer demos have gone, and how our partnership with Tim and the Lightning team is evolving,” said Todd Gibson, director of sales, at Collins Bus Corporation. “We look forward to deploying dozens more Lightning-powered zero-emission Collins Type A buses in the coming months, and are available to work with school districts and school bus operators nationally to understand and apply for the program.”

Both chassis versions of the Type A school bus come with 125 kWh of batteries, approximately 130 miles of range, and both AC level 2 at up to 13.2 kW and DC fast charge at up to 80 kW. Hundreds of Lightning vehicles are on the road today and have accumulated over 2 million real-world, zero-emission miles and growing fast.

Between government funding, low operating costs, and the potential revenue generation from Low Carbon Fuel Standard credits (in certain states) and bidirectional grid charging during non-use times, moving to electric school buses is no longer a financial burden for school districts, but rather an investment that pays off in the near- and long-term.

About Lightning eMotors

Lightning eMotors 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, shuttle buses, Class 4 Type A school buses, Class 6 work trucks, Class 7 city buses, and 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.

About Collins Bus Corporation

Collins Bus Corporation, a subsidiary of REV Group Inc., has delivered more than 50 years of the best bus designs. The Collins name has long been synonymous with the school bus industry. After half a century of delivering Type A school buses with A+ marks for strength and safety, it only makes sense that Collins has become the nation’s most trusted bus manufacturer across every segment. From Type A school buses to the latest Collins Mobile Clinic, passengers and businesses can place their trust in Collins’ engineering and innovation as much as in the company itself. For more information, visit https://www.collinsbus.com.

About REV Group, Inc.

REV Group® companies are leading designers and manufacturers of specialty vehicles and related aftermarket parts and services, which serve a diversified customer base, primarily in the United States, through three segments: Fire & Emergency, Commercial, and Recreation. They provide customized vehicle solutions for applications, including essential needs for public services (ambulances, fire apparatus, school buses, and transit buses), commercial infrastructure (terminal trucks and industrial sweepers), and consumer leisure (recreational vehicles). REV Group’s diverse portfolio is made up of well-established principal vehicle brands, including many of the most recognizable names within their industry. Several of REV Group’s brands pioneered their specialty vehicle product categories and date back more than 50 years. REV Group trades on the NYSE under the symbol REVG.