NEWSNOTES | March 30, 2022
News Notes

NEWSNOTES | March 30, 2022

Wednesday, March 30, 2022 / Kimberly Taylor

Happy Wednesday! Today is the day that the California Air Resources Board (CARB) Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project (HVIP) opened. An impressive $196,600,000 is available. Funds are set aside for public transit buses, class 8 tractors performing drayage operations and public-school buses. Check out the latest information here.

CALSTART members BP and Uber have signed a new global strategic convenience partnership aiming to make more than 3,000 retail locations available on Uber eats by 2025. In the U.S., the partnership begins on the west coast and eventually adding the eastern U.S. There will be a range of product offerings including fresh and prepared foods from select retail locations.

The Carolina’s are growing in popularity as manufacturing centers for clean transportation. The latest entrant is soon to be CALSTART member VinFast, a Vietnamese automaker, has signed a preliminary deal to initially invest $2 billion in a North Carolina factory to make electric buses, sport utility vehicles (SUVs), and batteries for EVs.

Lightning eMotors, provider of medium-duty and specialty commercial EVs, has expanded its partnership with Forest River to offer a factory-certified, all-electric repower program for shuttle buses and passenger vans. More than 50,000 Forest River shuttle buses and passenger vans across the U.S. and Canada are eligible for this program.

Madison, Wisconsin has entered a contract with New Flyer for a base order of 27 60-foot all-electric articulated buses that will be used in the cities new bus rapid transit system. As transit agencies throughout the country contemplate their next step, low-carbon bus options, the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) and the Federal Transit Administration will host a making the business case webinar for clean transit options on April 6.

School bus orders are on the rise, too, and Georgia-based bus maker Blue Bird Corporation has received the largest order of electric school buses from a district in its history. California’s Modesto City Schools ordered 30 Blue Bird electric school buses and they expect to save more than $250k per year.

Volvo’s North American truck division landed its largest order for its electric trucks yet, selling 110 of the local haul Class 8 tractors to shipping giant Maersk. The electric tractors are for drayage and local shipping operations at the Southern California port complex. Volvo was also honored as the Green Car Journal’s winner of the 2022 Commercial Green Truck of the Year. Included among the many other winners were Kenworth, Lion, Nikola, Peterbilt and Sea Electric.

Lucky me, last month I got to go to San Antonio, TX for a tour of Navistar’s impressive new truck assembly plant and Advanced Technology Center. Early in 2023 CALSTART Executive level members will be hosted at the facility for our first Leadership Circle of 2023. If you want a sneak preview, you can check it out here.

Until next week,

Kimberly

HVIP Incentives for Clean Trucks and Buses, California HVIP

https://californiahvip.org/

BP, Uber Eats Partner on Convenience Delivery Deal, Supermarket News

https://bit.ly/3iQWB5E

VinFast to Build EVs in North Carolina, AP News

https://bit.ly/3uZmfeb

Forest River, Lightning eMotors Expand Partnership, Mass Transit

https://bit.ly/3wPNJoQ

Madison Securing Electric Buses for BRT, Madison.com

https://bit.ly/3wPZ4We