GreenPower Motor Company Inc., which makes all-electric medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, announced it is moving forward with plans for the first 50 all-electric shuttle buses, which will be jointly developed with a new strategic partner that has secured more than $2.5 billion for electric mobility projects. 

Body assembly will be done entirely in Mexico, and GreenPower can use its New Mexico facility to prepare and stage its EV Star Cab & Chassis, the zero-emission platform we are using for this build, GreenPower president Brendan Riley said in a news release. "Our relationship with Mexican body builders will allow us to localize vehicles that specifically meet the customers' requirements and expand our bus deployments in Mexico," he said. 

Riley said the company has retained Mexico-based Victor Pliego to help oversee cab-chassis importation from the United States and assist with the body builds. "We are excited to work with Victor, who has worked for Dina S.A. and other Mexican transportation-related companies, in developing this growing relationship with body builders who will upfit our EV Star Cab & Chassis, allowing us to develop new markets for our buses in Mexico," Riley added. 

"This new strategic partnership opens a world of market opportunities for GreenPower's products beyond our traditional markets in the United States and Canada," added GreenPower CEO Fraser Atkinson. "This relationship creates a foundation by which GreenPower can export and sell its product line to both established and developing markets." 

The all-electric GreenPower proprietary EV Star Cab & Chassis is purpose-built as an electric vehicle and designed to accommodate a variety of upfits or bodies for different use cases. The GreenPower EV Star Cab & Chassis has a carrying capacity of 7,000 pounds and a range of up to 150 miles on a single charge. Its clean-sheet design approach enables optimal battery pack placement and weight distribution, according to the company, allowing the vehicle to accommodate a larger energy supply, deliver a longer range, and set a new standard for zero-emission goods and people transportation.