Motiv Power Systems Celebrates Ten Year Anniversary

FOSTER CITY, Calif. — This year, Motiv Power Systems is celebrating ten years of Freeing Fleets From Fossil Fuels. With partners like Ford, BMW, Winnebago, Spartan/Utilimaster, Champion Bus, Creative Bus Sales, Collins Bus, ABC, Transtech Bus, and more, Motiv has become a recognized leader in all-electric chassis for commercial trucks and buses. Collectively, Motiv’s EPIC chassis have traveled over 750,000 real-world miles driven by customers such as Aramark, Bimbo Bakeries USA, USPS, the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), over a dozen school districts, and more.

With partners like Ford, BMW, Winnebago, Spartan/Utilimaster, Champion Bus, Creative Bus Sales, Collins Bus, ABC, Transtech Bus, and more, Motiv has become a recognized leader in all-electric chassis for commercial trucks and buses.

An event celebrating Motiv’s tenth anniversary will be held at its Foster City headquarters on October 3, 2019, from 2:00pm – 4:00pm. Dignitaries including Foster City Mayor Sam Hindi and San Mateo Mayor Diane Papan will be present to commemorate the occasion and share their thoughts at the event. Additionally, California Air Resource Board (CARB) Air Resources Supervisor Peter Christensen, President and CEO of CALSTART John Boesel, and others will share words at the podium.

“As a freshly minted Stanford engineer in 2009, I would have never imagined that the market for electrified commercial vehicles in 2019 would be as strong as it is today,” states Jim Castelaz, CTO and Founder of Motiv. “Back then, Motiv was a small team asking big questions about how to tackle the complex challenges of using electric power to move people and goods along fixed routes. I knew that we had one distinct advantage over passenger cars – predictability. We knew where these vehicles would be housed and serviced, the routes they would drive each day, and where they would return to charge each night.”

Ten years ago, Motiv’s work surrounded consulting contracts and projects. By 2013 the company had released the first production model all-electric school bus in the U.S. through a partnership with TransTech Bus. As Motiv’s technology grew and matured from pilot projects to full deployments, the business case for reducing fleet operating costs by 85% emerged. In 2017, Motiv was the first all-electric chassis OEM to secure Ford’s electric Quality Vehicle Modifier (eQVM) status. In 2018, Motiv released its turn-key Electric Powered Intelligent Chassis (EPIC) based on the  Ford platform. That same year, it became the first Tier 1 supplier of a CARB-certified all-electric stripped chassis. In 2019, Jim Castelaz stepped into the role of Chief Technical Officer and welcomed board member Matt O’Leary as Motiv’s new Chief Executive Officer.

“The introduction of the EPIC chassis was a game-changer for our customers. It streamlined compatibility with numerous standard vehicle body types and helped customers match our chassis offerings to their vehicles for their applications,” recalls O’Leary. “This shift to a turn-key chassis platform allowed everyone to focus less on technical configurations, and more on vehicle uses cases, cost savings, and how to integrate electric commercial vehicle operations into their overall fleet operations.”

Moving forward into the next ten years, Motiv intends to continue its efforts to bring commercial electric vehicles into parity with fossil-fueled vehicles without incentives. It plans to put its focus on continued market development and further technology innovation and differentiation. Through these activities, Motiv will do its part to help the transportation industry as a whole to shift the balance in favor of EVs.

“I believe that within the next five years, the EV industry will no longer need to pursue incentives or subsidies for adoption.  The global scale of battery production and growth of EV adoption, along with innovation in hardware and software provide an opportunity to create additional applications and use cases to bring even more value to fleets,” states Castelaz.  “It’s exciting to see what the next ten years holds for Motiv and the industry at large, as we all work together to continue to Free Feets from Fossil Fuels.”

About Motiv Power Systems

Founded in 2009, and headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, Motiv Power Systems, a leading provider of software and technology to electrify medium-duty commercial vehicles, is committed to freeing fleets from their dependence on fossil fuels. Motiv’s EPIC (Electric Powered Intelligent Chassis) are CARB- certified, GSA-approved, and available for many configurations, including step vans, box trucks, work trucks, shuttle buses, school buses, trolleys, and other specialty vehicles. An EPIC offers uncompromised performance and functionality without the pollution, noise, heat, and vibration of gasoline or diesel power. Motiv is the only Ford eQVM-approved provider of all-electric chassis for commercial trucks and buses, and benefits from engineering insights and support from Ford to ensure safety and reliability. With more than 550,000 miles logged among several of the largest fleet operators in the United States, the EPIC family eliminates 100 percent of vehicle emissions, dramatically reduces operating and maintenance costs, and creates a healthier environment for riders and communities, while also reducing driver fatigue. For more information and career opportunities, please visit motivtrucks.com and follow us on Twitter @motivps, Facebook and LinkedIn.

CONTACT INFORMATION:
Technica Communications
Lisa Ann Pinkerton
408-806-9626
lpinkerton@technicacommunications.com