Truck & Off-Highway Engineering - April 2022 - 12

TECHNICAL INNOVATIONS
available before the end of the year.
" This collaboration with Metalsa will
allow us to serve areas of the commercial
vehicle market that are currently
underserved with electrification options, "
said Tim Reeser, CEO and cofounder
of Lightning eMotors. " Bringing
this solution to the commercial EV
space represents another milestone in
our strategy to offer our customers purpose-built,
highly-customized zeroemission
vehicles that deliver superior
performance at a low price. "
Lightning eMotors states that the
design of their eChassis accommodates
various battery sizes and configurations,
as well as different powertrain
integrations and wheelbases. The flexibility
of this design enables it to support
a wide variety of applications and
upfitter configurations. The company
also states that their eChassis will support
a gross vehicle weight rating
(GVWR) of approximately 1,500 pounds
(680 kg) more than comparable platforms
currently on the market.
" We're thrilled to be collaborating with
Lightning eMotors to design, develop,
integrate and assemble this first-of-itskind
flexible chassis, purpose-built to support
the growing demand in the industry, "
said Joe El-Behairy, president, e-Mobility
Growth Business Unit at Metalsa.
" Lightning's commitment to innovation
and putting high-quality vehicles on the
Lightning's eChassis accommodates
various battery sizes and configurations,
as well as different powertrain
integrations and wheelbases.
road quickly makes them the perfect customer
to introduce this product.
Lighting eMotors believes that its
partnership with Metalsa will help insulate
it from the ongoing supply chain
issues throughout the industry and will
better position the company to deliver
on production dates for the eChassis.
The company expects to be first-to-market
with their new eChassis and intends
to deliver new vehicles at a swift pace.
Lightning eMotors also recently announced
that its all-electric fleet had
just crossed the million-mile mark for
customer-driven and owned vehicles.
The miles driven include public roads
and highways across the U.S. and
Canada on nine different vehicle platforms
ranging from Class 3 through
Class 7, and six different vertical market
applications such as ambulances, cargo
vans, delivery trucks, school buses,
shuttle buses and transit buses.
According to Lighting eMotors, the
company's customer fleet is accumulating
test mileage at a rate of over
25,000 miles (40,233 km) per month.
The rate is expected in increase as
Lightning accelerates its production and
delivery of vehicles. At the time of writing,
the highest mileage Lighting vehicle
on the road has logged over
54,000 miles (86,900 km).
The company's current roster of legaCATL
battery packs will be
available to Lightning in two
options - a 30-kWh or a
35-kWh battery - for a total
of more than 175 megawatthours
of battery capacity.
Production of vehicles using
CATL battery packs was
expected to begin in March.
12 April 2022
cy OEM chassis drivetrain electrification
includes the Ford Transit, E-450, F-550,
and F-53/59 platforms. General Motors
applications include the 6500XD LCF
chassis. Lighting also offers EV repower
solutions for city buses and motorcoaches
as well as a mobile DC fast
charging unit which can be upfitted for
commercial vans or trailers.
Matt Wolfe
TRUCK & OFF-HIGHWAY ENGINEERING
BOTH IMAGES: LIGHTNING EMOTORS / D. BENNETT
Truck & Off-Highway Engineering - April 2022

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