Proterra Inc.

Newly public Lion Electric will build electric trucks in Illinois

On its first day of public trading, Canada’s Lion Electric Co. made good on a pledge to expand manufacturing in the U.S., investing  $70 million to convert a partially finished warehouse in Joliet, Illinois, into a plant to build electric trucks and buses.

At least 745 new jobs are expected to be created over the next three years.

Lion, based in St. Jerome, Quebec, is expected to receive about $490 million after expenses in a business combination completed Thursday with Northern Genesis...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/newly-public-lion-electric-will-build-electric-trucks-in-illinois

Truck Talk: ‘Look, Ma, no hands’ edition

This week, we’re cleaning up after a flurry of news in the autonomous vehicle space and seeing the first concrete evidence that the chips are down for truck manufacturers. 

Construction alert

One went public. One went virtual. Another expanded in China. After an unusually busy week in the autonomous vehicle space, what could possibly be left to talk about? 

Let’s start with construction zones. They present a vexing yet all-too-frequent challenge for designers of perception software expected to be...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/truck-talk-look-ma-no-hands-edition

Trucking testifies on ‘range anxiety,’ other obstacles to zero-emission vehicles

Trucking interests briefed lawmakers Wednesday on the feasibility of getting to a zero-emissions vehicle world by 2050 — one of President Joe Biden’s climate goals — as Republicans reiterated their vow to keep climate change policy away from the next infrastructure package.

Testifying at a House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee hearing on behalf of the National Association of Truck Stop Operators (NATSO), Shameek Konar, CEO of fuel retailer Pilot Flying J, said that establishing an...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/trucking-testifies-on-range-anxiety-other-obstacles-to-zero-emission-vehicles

Truck Talk: Tuning up the volume edition

This week, we talk with retiring Daimler Trucks North America CEO Roger Nielsen about hosting a generation of big name music acts; follow electric school buses in Maryland and LA; and check in on the semiconductor chip shortage. You can subscribe to Truck Talk and other FreightWaves newsletters here.

Listen to the music

Outgoing Daimler Truck North America CEO Roger Nielsen offered thoughts on a range of industry issues as he prepares to retire in April after 35 years. One thing that continues...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/truck-talk:-tuning-up-the-volume-edition

Truck Talk: Autonomous range-finding edition

This week we’re looking at the plethora of lidar companies chasing autonomous vehicle business; asking three questions of Torc Robotics CEO Michael Fleming; and circling the globe with new business announcements. Plus, some people, places and things. Starting next Friday, Truck Talk will be delivered by email if you subscribe at: https://www.freightwaves.com/truck-talk.

Business for all?

Lidar, which stands for light detection and ranging, is a critical element of autonomous vehicles. The...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/truck-talk:-autonomous-range-finding-edition

Daimler will package own components for electric trucks

Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) is going to offer its own Detroit-branded ePowertrain when it begins selling the battery electric-powered Freightliner eCascadia and Freightliner eM2 next year.

The technology subsidiary in suburban Detroit is getting a $20 million investment to source the components. But the work comes from a global architecture designed to create carbon dioxide-neutral commercial vehicles. Daimler is targeting carbon neutrality in its major markets by 2039.  

Daimler’s...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/daimler-will-package-own-components-for-electric-trucks

Competition intensifies for commercial vehicle battery makers

Moving beyond electric vehicles themselves, blank-check companies are targeting battery developers critical to the growing demand for zero-emission commercial vehicles.

The most attractive battery-making companies have track records and significant revenue, reducing the risk to investors. The special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) sponsoring their public debuts promise hundreds of millions of dollars for rapid scaling of the businesses.

Take Romeo Power Inc., founded in 2015 by expatriates...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/competition-intensifies-for-commercial-vehicle-battery-makers

Daimler Trucks invests in Proterra electrification SPAC

Proterra Inc., which makes heavy-duty electric transit buses, drivetrains, batteries and charging systems, will go public in a reverse merger with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) ArcLight Clean Transportation Corp. (NASDAQ: ACTC)

Daimler Trucks, already a Proterra investor and technology partner, is among the financial backers of the deal that will bring $648 million in cash to Proterra when the business combination is completed. 

ArcLight is a so-called blank check company created...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/daimler-trucks-invests-in-proterra-electrification-spac

Birth of a SPAC: Ex-GM executive hunting next-gen mobility target

Former General Motors (NYSE: GM) executive Barry Engle and his team at Qell Acquisition Corp. raised $380 million in less than a month to invest in a next-generation mobility company. Despite a record number of special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) being formed this year, he still sees plenty of opportunity.

“The number of companies out there for whom this might be a really good alternative is infinitely larger,” Engle told FreightWaves in an interview. “Very few companies looking for...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/birth-of-a-spac-ex-gm-executive-hunting-next-gen-mobility-target

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