Foster City, Calif.-based Motiv Power Systems, which provides chassis and software systems for medium-duty trucks and buses, said on Monday it had secured $15 million in additional funding from GMAG Holdings Corp. to fund technology and scale up its manufacturing operations.
The latest funding follows a $60 million funding round last October led by GMAG, Motiv’s main investor, and RV manufacturer Winnebago. Motiv has provided chassis for customers such as Aramark and it electrifies the E-450, a medium-duty truck made by Ford Motor Co.
Vehicle makers are scrambling to produce electric medium- and heavy-duty trucks with sufficient range for commercial customers seeking to switch away from traditional combustion engines. While the electric passenger vehicle market has been dominated by Tesla, shipping and freight companies are still waiting for viable models to put into service. Through its specialty vehicle division Winnebago has been funding and implementing such electric-vehicle technology into its products as well.
Motiv’s latest funding brings its total capital raised to $95 million.
The race to production for commercial electric vehicles was given fresh impetus in June when the California Air Resources Board (CARB) approved a groundbreaking policy to wean its trucking sector off diesel fuel by requiring manufacturers to sell a rising number of zero-emission vehicles, starting in 2024.
