battery packs

Proterra’s surviving businesses may shed bankruptcy stigma  

The stigma of going through bankruptcy is real, whether personal or corporate. But sometimes, it turns out OK. Consider Proterra Inc., a maker of electric transit buses, battery packs and a developer of charging infrastructure.

Several startups in the electrification space ran out of financial runway. They either disappeared or were absorbed by other companies. Proterra’s electric transit bus business tasted early success after launching in 2004. Investors like automaker General Motors’ venture...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/proterras-surviving-businesses-may-shed-bankruptcy-stigma

Of floor mops, M&M coatings … and battery packs 

What do coatings for M&M chocolate candies, O-Cedar floor mops and battery packs for electric trucks have in common?

All three come from German industrial conglomerate Freudenberg Group. The company operates many other seemingly incongruous businesses from filtration to home cleaning products.

A history of handoffs

Freudenberg’s battery business is an appropriate Truck Tech topic. But not as tasty than M&Ms, for which it makes the hard shell coatings through its Capol business unit. 

The...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/of-floor-mops-mm-coatings-and-battery-packs

Fire-damaged Nikola electric truck reignites; will a recall follow?

googletag.cmd.push(function() { var gptSlot = googletag.defineSlot(‘/21776187881/FW-Responsive-Main_Content-Slot1’, [[728, 90], [468, 60], [300, 100], [320, 50]], ‘div-gpt-ad-b1-i-fw-ad-1’).defineSizeMapping(gptSizeMaps.banner1).setCollapseEmptyDiv(true).addService(googletag.pubads());
gptAdSlots.push(gptSlot);
});

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-b1-i-fw-ad-1’); });

A Nikola battery-electric truck severely damaged in a fire at the company’s Phoenix headquarters...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/fire-damaged-nikola-electric-truck-reignites-will-a-recall-follow

Lion Electric sues Nikola over canceling Romeo battery contract

Nikola Corp.’s acquisition of struggling battery startup Romeo Power Inc. has spilled into federal court with Lion Electric Co. claiming Nikola tried to poach its customers after canceling a battery supply agreement Lion had with Romeo Power.

In a civil case filed in the U.S. District Court for Arizona, Lion claimed Nikola told Romeo to raise prices on a previously agreed-to contract with Lion for all but 40 of 296 battery packs Lion ordered for its Lion 8T Class 8 electric truck. Nikola...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/lion-electric-sues-nikola-over-canceling-romeo-battery-contract

Nikola posts first, albeit tiny, gross profit on electric truck chargers

Aerial view of Nikola plant with solar panels

Nikola Corp. posted its first-ever gross profit in Q1, a milestone for the electric truck maker that also recorded 134 heavily incentivized orders from fleets planning to operate in California.

The startup electric truck maker began regular production of its battery-electric Class 8 Tre BEV cabover on March 21. Nikola shipped 11 trucks at the end of April to dealers to fulfill customer orders.

Forty preproduction trucks built in Q1 are being used by dealers as demonstration units. Univar Solutions

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/nikola-posts-first-albeit-tiny-gross-profit-on-electric-truck-chargers

Workhorse electric delivery van builds lag as backlog swells

Workhorse Group (NASDAQ: WKHS) built just seven trucks in the fourth quarter as its underdeveloped production systems and supply chain issues continued to hold down the electric maker’s progress even as orders have grown sevenfold compared with a year ago.

“We are facing various supply chain challenges, both internal and external,” CEO Duane Hughes said on the company’s Q4 earnings call Monday. “Given our backlog, we cannot sacrifice future build volume for current-year production. Scaling up...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/workhorse-electric-delivery-van-builds-lag-as-backlog-swells

GM will build electric commercial delivery vans in Canada

General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) will invest $800 million in a makeover of a plant in Ingersoll, Ontario to build its EV600 electric delivery vans.

BrightDrop is a new business within GM offering a first-to-last-mile ecosystem of connected and electrified products and services.  GM digitally revealed BrightDrop last week at CES 2021.

Adding the EV600 along with the EP1 electric e-pallet, and a software platform for fleet and asset management, immediately makes GM a player among traditional and...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/gm-will-build-electric-commercial-delivery-vans-in-canada

Hitachi will benchmark Workhorse operations and build dealer network

Workhorse C-1000 electric vans

Workhorse Group is looking to Hitachi to assess its manufacturing and supply chain operations to help speed up electric delivery truck production.

The strategic agreements between Workhorse (NASDAQ: WKHS) and Hitachi America, Ltd. and Hitachi Capital America Corp. includes benchmarking. Hitachi will recommend changes based on its Lumada platform that covers smart manufacturing, data-driven digital solutions and electric vehicle (EV) technologies.

Hitachi Capital America will help Workhorse...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/hitachi-will-benchmark-workhorse-operations-and-build-dealer-network