Lightning eMotors Partners with Perrone Robotics to Offer Fully Autonomous Vehicle Option to Zero-Emission Fleet Customers

Rhea-AI Summary

Lightning eMotors (NYSE: ZEV) has partnered with Perrone Robotics to offer self-driving electric vehicles for Class 3 - 7 commercial fleets. This collaboration enhances Lightning's zero-emissions platform with Perrone's autonomous technology, TONY®, which is vehicle-agnostic and can be deployed for various dedicated uses. The first customer, PIDC, has ordered an all-electric shuttle for the Philadelphia Navy Yard, demonstrating immediate market interest. Lightning plans to offer Level 2 and Level 4 autonomous applications, catering to rising demand in sectors such as logistics and urban transport.

Positive

• Partnership with Perrone Robotics expands the autonomous electric vehicle offerings.
• First customer purchase demonstrates market demand for autonomous shuttle solutions.
• Lightning's vehicles can now serve a wide range of dedicated uses in commercial applications.

Negative

• None.

• Lightning’s medium-duty zero-emission fleet offerings now include Level 2 and Level 4 autonomous vehicle capability
• Perrone’s vehicle-agnostic TONY® AV system is available for all Lightning vehicle orders
• Perrone’s proven Lidar-centric autonomous technology a differentiating factor

LOVELAND, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Lightning eMotors (NYSE: ZEV), a leading provider of zero-emission medium-duty commercial vehicles and electric vehicle technology for fleets, and Perrone Robotics have partnered to offer Class 3 - 7 commercial fleet customers self-driving, electric fleet vehicles that can be deployed for a wide range of dedicated uses.

A Lightning electric van equipped with Perrone Robotics’ autonomous driving system goes through its paces at Perrone’s proving ground in Crozet, Virginia (Photo: Lightning eMotors)

The partnership expands Lightning’s zero-emissions EV platform offerings to include Perrone’s AV-powered technology, TONY®, a vehicle-independent retrofit kit designed to enable vehicles to transport people and goods in geo-fenced and dedicated driving routes. Vehicles equipped with Perrone’s self-driving technology embedded into Lightning’s vehicles for both cargo and passenger uses can be ordered immediately.

“We were looking for partners who could deliver autonomous capabilities to our customers today, and in the future — and that’s what Perrone offers,” Lightning eMotors CEO Tim Reeser said. “We offer perhaps the widest range of electric commercial vehicles in North America, and now we have an autonomous vehicle solution for our products, ranging from ambulances to campus shuttles and other commercial applications.”

PIDC, Philadelphia's public-private economic development corporation, is the first Lightning eMotors customer to purchase a self-driving, all-electric shuttle powered by Perrone’s TONY AV kit. Pennsylvania's first AV shuttle will provide transportation services to visitors and employees within the Philadelphia Navy Yard, a 1,200-acre dynamic, urban development centrally located in the popular waterfront business campus. Lightning and Perrone are in active discussions with a number of other potential customers as well.

Perrone is a leading provider of AV technology and turnkey vehicle solutions. The company holds a Pioneer Patent for its “MAX” general purpose robotics operating system, which is the backbone of its TONY solution. Together with MAX, TONY is one of the most flexible and adaptable AV solutions available in the current market. Perrone’s AV retrofit kit can be integrated into new vehicles and can also be integrated into existing, repowered vehicles.

“A lot of electric vehicle manufacturers are focused on just one vehicle size, and in many cases it’s a bespoke custom platform,” Perrone Robotics, Inc. founder and CEO Paul Perrone said. “But that’s not how we operate at Perrone – our partnership with Lightning is an example of how we want to make a bigger impact. Lightning’s wide range of vehicles is aligned perfectly with the way we want to help foster the widespread adoption of self-driving technology.”

Initially, Lightning will deploy Perrone’s technology into two product categories, including fully autonomous Level 4 application environments with dedicated routes such as college campuses, and Level 2 applications for high-end visual and safety features for commercial vehicles. Currently, Level 4 vehicles can only operate in geo-fenced areas, but demand for this use is rising as campuses, logistics yards, downtown business districts, resorts, and other organizations and municipalities seek EV/AV solutions.

Level 2 autonomous vehicles are also seeing rising demand, especially for transit vehicle operators, who can benefit from the state-of-the-art safety features, including lane-keeping capability, adaptive cruise control and forward collision avoidance. All of these features are now available among Lightning’s platform offerings and will be powered by lidar technology, fused with radar to add an additional layer of redundancy that’s important for all Lightning applications.

“Our customers are telling us they want this technology and now we can deliver it. These vehicles are ideal for college campuses, downtown business districts, vacation resorts and for large logistics yards,” Reeser said. “And, thanks to our partnership with Perrone, we stand alone as the only all-electric commercial vehicle provider that can offer Class 3 – 7 medium-duty vehicles that are fully autonomous and are certified by the departments of transportation, local transit agencies and other commercial organizations.”

A video of a Lightning electric van equipped with Perrone Robotics’ autonomous system can be found here: https://link.assetfile.io/4njY9uifJsHAg1BPHcR52q.mp4.

About Lightning eMotors

Lightning eMotors (NYSE: ZEV), based in Loveland, Colorado, has been providing specialized and sustainable fleet solutions since 2009, deploying complete zero-emission-vehicle (ZEV) solutions for commercial fleets since 2018 – including Class 3 cargo and passenger vans, Class 4 and 5 cargo vans and shuttle buses, Class 4 Type A school buses, Class 6 work trucks, Class 7 city buses, and Class A motor coaches. The Lightning eMotors team designs, engineers, customizes, and manufactures zero-emission vehicles to support the wide array of fleet customer needs including school buses and ambulances, with a full suite of control software, telematics, analytics, and charging solutions to simplify the buying and ownership experience and maximize uptime and energy efficiency. Lightning eMotors also offers charging technologies and “charging as a service” (CaaS) to commercial and government fleets via its Lightning Energy division. To learn more, visit https://lightningemotors.com.

About Perrone Robotics, Inc.

Perrone is a leading provider of fully automated vehicle systems. The company delivers mobility excellence via TONY® (short for "TO Navigate You"), a vehicle independent retrofit kit for use in the automated transit of people and goods in geo-fenced and localized operations. TONY embeds inside any vehicle type or model, for any job application to provide a complete "artificial driver" solution that brings full autonomy in a safety certifiable framework. Proven, piloted, and in commercial production, Perrone automated systems help commercial, municipal, and governmental customers increase transportation efficiencies, enhance safety, and accelerate zero-emission electric vehicle deployment. The company also offers a portfolio of existing turnkey automated shuttles and vehicles pre-integrated with the TONY AV-Retrofit kit. Learn more @ www.perronerobotics.com or follow us @perronerobotics.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, Lightning eMotors’ expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions, plans, prospects or strategies regarding the future business plans. Any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. In addition, any statements that refer to projections, forecasts or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intends,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “would” and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based on certain assumptions and analyses made by the management of Lightning eMotors in light of their respective experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments and their potential effects on Lightning eMotors as well as other factors they believe are appropriate in the circumstances. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting Lightning eMotors will be those anticipated. These forward-looking statements contained in this press release are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause actual results or outcomes to be materially different from any future results or outcomes expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors include, but are not limited to: (i) those related to Lightning eMotors’ operations and business and financial performance; (ii) the ability of Lightning eMotors to execute on its business strategy and grow demand for its products and revenue; (iii) the potential increases in costs or shortage of materials required to develop and manufacture Lightning eMotors’ products; (iv) the potential severity, magnitude and duration of the COVID-19 pandemic as it affects the business operations, global supply chains, financial results and position of Lightning eMotors and on the U.S. and global economy; (v) current market conditions and federal, state, and local laws, regulations and government incentives, particularly those related to the commercial electric vehicle market, and the regulation of autonomous vehicles; (vi) the size and growth of the markets in which Lightning eMotors operates; (vii) the mix of products utilized by Lightning eMotors’ customers and such customers’ needs for these products; (viii) market acceptance of new product offerings and whether this will be a catalyst for others to purchase electric vehicles and (ix) the rate at which customers deploy its electric vehicle. These and other risks are described more fully in Lightning eMotors’ filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and other documents that it subsequently files with the SEC from time to time. Moreover, Lightning eMotors operates in a competitive and rapidly changing environment, and new risks may emerge from time to time. You should not put undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements should not be read as a guarantee of future performance or results and will not necessarily be accurate indications of the times at, or by, which such performance or results will be achieved, if at all. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize or should any of the assumptions being made prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements. Lightning eMotors undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220509005106/en/

Lightning eMotors news media contact:

Nick Bettis

(800) 223-0740

pressrelations@lightningemotors.com

Perrone Robotics news media contact:

Nick Pilipowskyj

(434) 284-0577

npilipowskyj@perronerobotics.com

Source: Lightning eMotors

FAQ

What is the partnership between Lightning eMotors and Perrone Robotics about?

The partnership allows Lightning eMotors to offer self-driving electric vehicles for Class 3 - 7 commercial fleets, enhancing their zero-emissions offerings with Perrone's autonomous technology.

Who is the first customer to purchase the self-driving electric shuttle from Lightning eMotors?

PIDC, Philadelphia's public-private economic development corporation, is the first customer to purchase a self-driving electric shuttle powered by Perrone's TONY AV kit.

What types of autonomous vehicle technology are being offered by Lightning eMotors?

Lightning eMotors will initially deploy two types of autonomous vehicle applications: Level 2 for enhanced safety features and Level 4 for fully autonomous operations in geo-fenced areas.

How does the TONY AV system work with Lightning's electric vehicles?

TONY is a vehicle-agnostic retrofit kit that embeds into Lightning vehicles, enabling them to operate autonomously for transporting people and goods along dedicated routes.

What commercial applications can benefit from Lightning’s autonomous vehicles?

Lightning's autonomous vehicles are ideal for college campuses, logistics yards, downtown business districts, and large resorts.