Vicinity Motor Corp said that it has received a significant order from Olathe Fleet Solutions — a commercial truck dealership and fleet management in Kansas — for over 150 VMC Optimal E1 electric chassis valued in excess of US$19 million.
The company said that the VMC Optimal E1 orders are scheduled for delivery throughout 2022 for operation in school, commercial, shuttle, ambulance, last-mile and other key market segments.
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"Olathe is well respected and highly rated in the commercial fleet market. This order is the culmination of effort and development which began many months ago with the Olathe team and key end-user involvement," said William Trainer, CEO of Vicinity in a statement. "As an authorized Ford ship-through upfitter, Olathe will be able to offer best-in-class EV solutions for customers across the Class 4 commercial vehicle spectrum.”
Trainer noted: "We are seeing strong interest for the VMC Optimal EV vehicles as fleets seek to electrify and mitigate exposure to energy and carbon costs. We believe the market conditions are ideal for incredible vehicles such as ours, providing extensive range, highway speeds, and significant gradeability at maximum load.”
Olathe, based in Olathe, Kansas, is one of the nation's largest dealers in the commercial fleet industry, upfitting and delivering over 20,000 trucks nationwide yearly.
Marc McEver of Olathe said: "After careful evaluation of market options, Olathe decided to partner with VMC Optimal to offer solutions that will deliver safe and reliable results for our fleets.”
The chassis will be produced at the new VMC Optimal manufacturing plant in Elkhart, Indiana, and offer up to a 125-mile range with the battery pack completely protected inside the chassis rails. Units will begin delivering in the first quarter of 2022.
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