Harbinger, a California-based electric vehicle (EV) truck manufacturer, announced at ACT Expo its order book, which includes 4,000 binding vehicle pre-orders from customers and is valued at more than $400 million.
This includes a substantial multiyear order from Bimbo Bakeries USA, the U.S. business of Grupo Bimbo. Harbinger also received orders from THOR Industries. Additionally, commercial vehicle dealers have placed significant orders, including two of Freightliner’s largest dealers Doggett Equipment Services Group (500 units) and Campbell Supply (125 units); as well as other dealers, GATR Truck Center (500 units); ETHERO Truck + Energy (200 units); Electric Commercial Vehicles (ECV), an affiliate of Smyrna Truck (50 units) and more. Postal service operator, Mail Management Services has also placed an order for 40 units, among others.
Harbinger also announced it closed an additional $13 million in Series A funds in Q4 of 2023 from venture and strategic investors, including additional funding from the Coca-Cola System Sustainability Fund, managed by Greycroft. Previously, the company announced it had raised $60 million in Series A funds, bringing the new Series A total to $73 million and marking one of the largest Series A rounds for a hardware company. Harbinger will use the additional funds to continue expanding its manufacturing capacity and launch its commercial start of production in Q4 of 2024.
“While other new entrants struggle to fill their order pipelines, we have extensive pre-orders and backed-up demand for our medium-duty electric vehicles,” said John Harris, CEO, Harbinger. “We are laser focused on the medium-duty vehicle segment, where there is a huge variety of vehicles built on chassis like ours including walk-in vans, box trucks, recreational vehicles, delivery vans, school buses, emergency and disaster response vehicles and more. Today, most manufacturers are adapting gasoline or diesel vehicles to electrification, rather than building a ground-up electric platform. This compromised approach leads to concerns with vehicle safety and durability as well as higher production costs, which is why we chose to start fresh with a clean sheet design.”
A Premier Network of Partners and Dealers
Part of Harbinger’s strategy, the company said, is to build a holistic network to support the launch of its electric medium-duty trucks, including a nationwide network of service providers, charging and infrastructure development partners, and premier dealers. The company’s dealer network, which already serves 78% of the population in the U.S. and Canada and continues to expand, includes the following among others:
- Campbell Supply
- Doggett Equipment Services Group
- EBY Ford
- ETHERO Truck + Energy
- EV Choice
- GATR EV, a division of GATR Truck Center
- Hendrickson Fire
- Electric Commercial Vehicles (ECV), an affiliate of Smyrna Truck
- Safetek Specialty Vehicles (Canada)
“Demand outstrips supply for the entire medium-duty category as we have a multiyear backlog for electric, diesel and gasoline vehicles,” said Scott Campbell, owner, Campbell Supply. “Electric vehicles have a big place in the market, and that segment is only going to continue to grow. Harbinger’s electric trucks are a true industry changer. They offer superior acquisition and operating costs, enhanced safety features, and a driver-friendly design, all while delivering zero tailpipe emissions.”
Seasoned Team, Clean Slate Design
Harbinger is led by a management and technical team that hails from Tesla, Rivian, Ford, Anduril, SpaceX, Toyota, Honda, Volvo Trucks, Mack Trucks and more. Harbinger has created a proprietary electric platform, also known as an electric vehicle stripped chassis, from the ground up. It includes all major vehicle systems, which the company designs and assembles in house, including the powertrain, high voltage (HV) battery system, steering, brakes and more. This vertically integrated approach keeps costs low, the company said, and provides a higher-performing, safer and more durable solution than electric vehicles built upon existing diesel and gasoline platforms. Harbinger also manufactures its own motors and battery packs.
Harbinger Business Model
Once Harbinger assembles its electric vehicle stripped chassis, the company sells them to a dealer, a specialty upfitter, or directly to large fleet customers. From there, the dealer or customer works with a third party to upfit the chassis with a commercial or specialty body. Selling medium-duty stripped chassis separately from the body is standard practice for the large gas and diesel incumbents such as Ford and Freightliner.
One Platform, Many Possibilities
The majority of the vehicles in Harbinger’s 4,000-unit order, including those for Bimbo Bakeries USA, are intended for upfit into walk-in vans, which are commonly referred to as “step vans” and are the typical large package delivery trucks seen on roads today.
The others will be upfit into various vehicle types such as class A motorhomes, emergency vehicles and cutaway cabs, which are vehicles where only a cab is provided and an upfitter provides a custom-built payload area to create box trucks, shuttle buses, and more. Harbinger is working with body partner Sevna to upfit the chassis into cutaway cabs. Harbinger’s electric chassis is available in three different wheelbases, including 158 inches, 178 inches, and 208 inches, and in four different gross vehicle weight ratings (GVWRs), ranging from class 4 through 6.
Other specifications include:
- 800V liquid cooled battery system, with capacity scalable in 35kWh increments up to a 200+ mile range, which serves 90% of truck use cases
- Designed for 20-year, 450,000-mile service life
- Segment-leading safety and driver assistance features
- One-hour DC fast charging capability
- Passenger vehicle-like handling and ride comfort
“Aligned with Grupo Bimbo’s Purpose of Nourishing a Better World, Bimbo Bakeries USA has multiple carbon reduction strategies to meet their commitment of achieving Net-Zero emissions by 2050,” said Christopher Wolfe, senior director of sustainability, Bimbo Bakeries USA. “Partnering with Harbinger to expand our robust fleet of alternatively fueled vehicles is an important step in reducing our carbon emissions and dependencies on fossil fuels.”
Early Orders Being Manufactured Today
Harbinger’s manufacturing efforts are led by a world-class team including Tesla’s former Vice President (VP) of Manufacturing, Gilbert Passin, who serves as Harbinger’s Chief Production Officer. Passin, who spent nearly a decade at Tesla and led the launch and ramp-up of the Tesla Fremont factory, also held prior VP and General Manager-level roles with Toyota, Volvo Trucks, Mack Trucks, and Renault. Former Rivian VP of Supply Chain and Tesla executive Steve Gawronski serves as Harbinger’s Vice President of Supply Chain and Logistics.
Under Passin and his team’s leadership, the company has already produced and delivered a limited number of pre-production vehicles to key customers, including the first customer delivery to THOR in March of this year. Harbinger will begin producing and delivering its first production vehicles starting at the end of 2024.
“The THOR executives were amazed by the clean design of Harbinger’s electric chassis, and most had a hard time believing this was a pre-production vehicle,” said Jim Kane, director of eMobility at THOR Industries. “Harbinger’s product is so much better than anything else we have seen from the industry.”
Government Incentives are a Game Changer for the Industry
Government regulations are accelerating the adoption of electric vehicles into fleets across the nation. The U.S. federal government’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is providing up to $40,000 per vehicle in tax incentives to buyers or lessors of commercial electric vehicles; either 30% of the original purchase price of the vehicle minus the credit, or the price difference between the electric vehicle and an equivalent gas or diesel vehicle. This incentive is valid from Jan. 1, 2023 through Dec. 31, 2032 with no limit on the number of vehicles sold or amount of money disbursed through this incentive. Additionally, state and local zero-emissions grants introduce substantially more cost savings directly to customers. For example, California’s Hybrid and Zero-Emissions Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project (HVIP) provides buyers with approximately $30,000 to $85,000 worth of grants to purchase clean vehicles.
“Harbinger was founded on the principle that for commercial electric vehicles to become ubiquitous, they should be just as affordable to purchase as their gas and diesel counterparts,” said Harris. “The medium-duty truck market will quickly move to clean, economical electric power over the next few years, especially as government tax incentives and grants make all-electric trucks more affordable. There is a huge need for electrification in this market, and Harbinger is filling that gap.”
Price Parity with Gasoline and Diesel Vehicles
Most electric vehicles are only cost competitive with gasoline and diesel vehicles when factoring in the total cost of ownership, which takes into account the fuel and maintenance savings over many years. Harbinger takes a different approach. The company’s vehicles are sold at price parity with equivalent gas and diesel models after federal government tax incentives.
Harbinger at ACT Expo
Harbinger is exhibiting at this year’s Advanced Clean Transportation (ACT) Expo. With one of the largest booths (#1271), they are showcasing a Bimbo Bakeries USA walk-in van, a cutaway cab developed by Harbinger partner Sevna, and the full suite of Harbinger’s proprietary vehicle technologies, including a complete electric stripped chassis and advanced safety systems demonstrations. On Wed., May 22, Harbinger CEO John Harris was scheduled to speak on a panel titled Vehicle Innovation, discussing transformative innovations in vehicle technology for fleet applications. The expo floor opened on Mon., May 20, in Las Vegas, Nevada, and ends on Thurs., May 23.
