Atlis Motor Vehicles, the Mesa-based startup focused on bringing electric work trucks to market — is teaming up with a company that builds automotive chassis to develop commercial work trucks.
Atlis signed a strategic collaboration agreement with EAVX to integrate EAVX bodies and accessories with Atlis’ electric vehicle platform. The agreement calls for the development of the next generation of service and utility vehicle platforms; commercial work truck accessories; and commercial freight and dump vehicle platforms for the North American market.
Atlis says its XP platform will include proprietary battery cells and packs along with charging infrastructure that can fully recharge a 500-mile range battery in less than 15 minutes.
Batteries constitute one of three arms of the Mesa company’s business, with the other two being platform — or vehicle chassis that the company can sell to other manufacturers — and the vehicles themselves.
The company previously said it has signed commitments for 24,000 battery packs, with shipping to begin by the end of this year, and it recently unveiled the prototype for its XT pickup, and the company said production for that will begin in 2022.
This latest agreement takes the company into an arena that’s prime for growth, Atlis CEO Mark Hanchett said.
"We see electric commercial work trucks as a huge opportunity," Hanchett said in a statement. "Less than 1% of light duty commercial vehicles are electric, but that number is predicted to grow to at least 30% by 2030 due to battery cost reduction, government incentives and mandates for zero-emission trucks and industry partnerships, such as this one between Atlis and EAVX."
Mark Hope, CEO and general manager of EAVX, said the collaboration with Atlis will mean faster adoption of electric vehicles in the commercial market.
"As our commercial fleet customers develop plans to convert their fleets to EVs, having a partner like Atlis is beneficial due to their innovative battery technology, vehicle range and rapid charge time,” Hope said in a statement.
EAVX was founded this year and is the newest business unit in the portfolio of JB Poindexter & Co., which also holds Morgan Truck Body, Morgan Olson, Reading, Truck Accessories Group, EFP Corp., FederalEagle, MIC Group and Masterack.
"We have a proven history of creating excellent work truck and commercial vehicle bodies and accessories, and we are now expanding our capabilities to provide alternative energy vehicles through this partnership with Atlis," said John B Poindexter, CEO and Chairman, JB Poindexter & Co., in a statement.
Click the gallery below to see Atlis' XT pickup prototype:
