The next electric vehicle you come in contact with may not be an exotic gull-winged Tesla X, sleek Mustang Mach-E or flashy 1,000-horsepower GMC Hummer. Odds are increasing it’ll be a boxy delivery van or a school bus, and that it was engineered or built in Detroit.

There’s a gold rush going on to produce electric commercial vehicles like buses and Amazon vans, with everybody from huge automakers to independent customizers staking their claim.

If there was ever a sign that powertrain electrification is forging ahead, it was at The Work Truck Show in Indianapolis last week.

Five manufacturers showcased electric vans at the Indianapolis Convention Center. Sparking additional interest, XL Fleet debuted two heavy-duty hybrid Chevy Silverados, Motiv brought their latest electric F-59 chassis and Crane Carrier Company said they were on track to offering an electric truck.

However it was electric vans presented by Ford, Morgan Olson, Utilimaster and Workhorse that served as a big reminder of the growing interest in vans fueled in large part by swelling e-commerce.

Motiv Power Systems, a sustainable technology company delivering a software platform for the electrification of medium-duty trucks and buses, featured its new F-59 chassis at The Work Truck Show 2020.

The new F-59 chassis will serve urban fleet delivery customers for parcel and delivery vans, school and shuttle buses. The chassis features a shorter wheelbase, Motiv’s Adaptive Battery Controller (ABC), and BMW lithium-ion battery packs. These features enable modularity and greater maneuverability of the vehicle where it’s needed most, according to the company, as well as an increase in cargo space and range driven between charges. Collectively, these features provide the cost savings and reliability that fleet customers demand.

“Urban fleets face unique challenges; tight corners, smaller parking spaces, and congestion. By working closely with, and listening to our customers, we built the F-59 chassis to help them overcome these challenges so they can operate and focus on what they do best,” said Jim Castelaz, founder and CTO of Motiv Power Systems. “Our vision has always been to free fleets from fossil fuels, and adopting a customer-centric approach has enabled us to develop products that deliver real-world solutions.”

Motiv Power Systems, a sustainable technology company that specializes in software platforms for the electrification of medium-duty trucks and buses, has opened a new facility in Stockton, Calif.

The facility will serve as a pre-delivery inspection and service center enabling local and efficient customer support. Along with U.S.-based engineering and assembling, this service center will support the majority of Motiv customers’ electric vehicle (EV) fleets that are in the San Joaquin Valley.

To date, Motiv customers nationwide have driven over 950,000 clean miles.

“With continued growth in the EV market for fleet electrification, customers prefer to work with a trusted partner for all of their vehicle and service needs. These customers recognize the value that clean transportation brings to their supply chain, their drivers and their community at large,” says Matt O’Leary, chairman and CEO of Motiv.

Motiv Power Systems opened a new facility in Stockton, Calif. The facility will serve as a pre-delivery inspection and service center enabling local and efficient customer support.

Along with U.S. based engineering and assembling, this service center will support the majority of Motiv customer’s electric vehicle (EV) fleets that are in the San Joaquin Valley, improving air quality and driver experience, in addition to providing competitive jobs. To date, Motiv customers nationwide have driven over 950,000 clean miles, offsetting 1,033 metric tons of greenhouse gasses (GHG), or the equivalent of more than 103,635 gallons of diesel consumed.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony took place Feb. 13, 2020, and included Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs along with Motiv customers, EV fleet managers, community stakeholders, and local business leaders.

Winnebago Industries Inc. has delivered the first all-electric mobile surgical instrument lab (eMSIL) to University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) Health Center. The zero-emission mobile medical unit will travel between UCLA’s Ronald Reagan and Santa Monica campuses to collect, clean, repair, disinfect and sterilize surgical suite instruments.

Built by Winnebago and Motiv Power Systems, the vehicle is expected to save the health center $750,000 a year, traveling between two hospitals to clean and sterilize surgical equipment, compared to contracting with an off-site, third-party provider to do the work.

“We applaud UCLA for its innovative application of a mobile medical unit to transform a critical and costly service, normally fixed in a building, into one that can be transported to any location,” says Ashis Bhattacharya, Winnebago’s vice president of business development, specialty vehicles and advanced technology.

Electrification in the automotive industry isn’t just about consumer cars: There are plenty of commercial and specialist vehicles that are prime candidates for EVs, including in the healthcare industry. Take the new UCLA mobile surgical lab developed by Winnebago, for instance — it’s a zero-emission, all-electric vehicle that will move back and forth between two UCLA campuses, collecting, sterilizing and repairing surgical instruments for the medical staff there.

Why is that even needed? The usual process is sending out surgical instruments for this kind of service by a third-party, and it’s handled in a dedicated facility at a significant annual cost. UCLA Health Center estimates that it can save as much as $750,000 per year using the EV lab from Winnebago instead.

The traveling lab can operate for around eight hours, including round-trips between the two hospital campuses, or for a total distance traveled of between 85 and 125 miles on a single charge of its battery, depending on usage. It also offers “the same level of performance, productivity and compliance” as a lab in a fixed-location building, according to Winnebago.

Motiv Power Systems, maker of the EPIC all-electric chassis for buses and trucks, has secured $60 million in equity funding, led by investors GMAG Holdings and Winnebago. The funds will support the overall growth of Motiv, which includes opening a new engineering and manufacturing facility in Detroit and facilitating further growth in the large-fleet customer segment.

In 2018, Winnebago struck a deal with Motiv to use its e-chassis in an electric RV designed for commercial use, with the promise to financially invest in Motiv at a later date. Motiv hopes that establishing operations in Detroit will strengthen its Midwest presence, bring it closer to regional customers, and enable manufacturing growth through partners.

Provider of all-electric medium-duty chassis for buses and trucks, Motiv Power Systems announced it has secured $60 Million in equity funding. The Series B round of investment was led by investors GMAG Holdings Corp. and Winnebago. These funds will support the overall growth of Motiv, including opening a new engineering and manufacturing facility in Detroit as well as facilitate further growth in the large-fleet customer segment.

Collectively, vehicles powered by Motiv's EPIC chassis have accumulated more than 750,000 real-world miles driven by customers such as Aramark, Bimbo Bakeries USA, USPS, the City of Mountain View in the heart of Silicon Valley, over a dozen school districts, and more.

“Over the last ten years, Motiv has proven its technology and business model,” stated Matt Gallaher, Chief Financial Officer of GMAG Holdings Corp. “The commercial transportation industry is on the cusp of significant growth in electrification. We strongly believe in Motiv's technology as well as the management team driving its growth. We are excited to further support them as the company scales to meet the demand of the growing commercial EV market.”