Lightning eMotors, a leading provider of specialty commercial electric vehicles for fleets, has signed a new exclusive partnership with Soderholm Bus & Mobility in Hawaii to provide Lightning eMotors’ zero-emission powertrains for their commercial van and bus customers.
Soderholm Bus & Mobility, headquartered on Oahu, is the No. 1 bus distributor in the Pacific Islands and has sold more buses over the last 30 years than any other dealer. Soderholm will be installing Lightning eMotors’ fully electric powertrain systems in repowered applications in Hawaii, as well as buying new Lightning eMotors’ vans and shuttle buses. Lightning is shipping the first vehicle to Soderholm next month, and demonstration vehicles will be available in Hawaii this summer for fleets to test drive.
“Lightning eMotors’ new and repowered products give us the flexibility we need to provide sustainable transportation systems to the Pacific Islands,” said Erik Soderholm, co-owner and vice president of Soderholm Bus & Mobility. “Hawaii is making big investments in sustainable energy, and zero-emission transportation is the next step the islands have to take to meet their targets.”
Last year, Hawaii joined a group of 15 states and the District of Columbia to announce a joint memorandum of understanding (MOU), pledging to expand the market for electric medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, including large pickup trucks and vans, delivery trucks, box trucks, school and transit buses, and long-haul delivery trucks (big-rigs). The goal is to ensure that 100 percent of all new medium- and heavy-duty vehicle sales be zero-emission vehicles by 2050 with an interim target of 30 percent zero-emission vehicle sales by 2030. States signing the MOU were California, Connecticut, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.
“We’re well-positioned with our zero-emission vehicles to be able to help states such as Hawaii reach their sustainability goals,” said Tim Reeser, chief executive officer of Lightning eMotors. “Working with Soderholm will help fleets in the Pacific Islands to help fight climate change, and we’re pleased to sign this agreement and ship the first unit to them in Honolulu next month.”
Lightning eMotors is a high-growth electric vehicle manufacturer focused on urban commercial zero-emission vehicles. The company is the only operator with a full range of purpose-built Class 3-7 battery-electric and fuel cell electric vehicles in production today, addressing the large and growing fleet electrification market. Lightning’s complete electrification solutions cover medium- and heavy-duty vocational vehicles including ambulances, delivery trucks, bucket trucks, food trucks, school buses and coach buses, among others. Its customers include ABC Companies, Amazon, DHL, California State Hospitals, Fluid Trucks, and various public transit agencies.
In addition to its commercial EV business, Lightning eMotors offers charging technologies and energy as a service (EaaS) to commercial and government fleets via its Lightning Energy division. Lightning Energy designs, installs, services and manages charging solutions, providing fleets with an easy entry and full support to electrify and help stakeholders to achieve their sustainability goals.