Lightning eMotors is expanding production to meet the growing demand for electric vehicles from commercial and government fleets.

After recently moving its headquarters and expanding its square footage from 45,000 to 124,000, Lightning eMotors is now adding another 107,000 square feet in an adjacent building of its headquarters, for a total of 231,000 square feet of space for its operations, the company said. Lightning has the first right of acceptance on more than 500,000 square feet of additional manufacturing space if it determines customer demand requires the additional space.

“The additional space helps us to accommodate the increased number of electric van and truck projects that are contracted for 2021, as well as our work on charging infrastructure for fleets and electric motorcoach repowers,” said Keith Lehmeier, director of research and development for Lightning eMotors. “Importantly, the expansion will enable our team to work both faster and smarter, with more testing equipment and automation. As we hire engineers, it gives us room to have top-notch facilities for them to work.”

During the summer and fall of 2020, the company ramped up production by more than 600% and it recently doubled its workforce and expects to double it again in 2021, the company said.

As a part of the expansion, Lightning eMotors has added technology and automation, including CNC laser cutting and powder-coating equipment to better enable to control quality, accelerate development and production, and reduce costs,

Lightning eMotors offers a full range of medium-duty battery-electric and fuel cell commercial electric vehicles, as well as electric motorcoaches for North American vehicle operators, according to the company.