Investors pump financial backing and vehicle orders into electric truck sector

Investors continue to charge toward the electric vehicle manufacturing sector, as the Ohio automaker Battle Motors today said it had raised $150 million in backing and would increase production of its Class 6 and Class 8 vocational trucks.

The New Philadelphia, Ohio-based company makes diesel, compressed natural gas (CNG), and electric-powered garbage trucks and says it is expanding its applications to now include middle-mile and last-mile delivery.

The latest capital was a “series B” round led by a funder identified only as “a cornerstone global institutional investor” and follows a $120 million “series A” investment round in December 2021. Also in 2021, Battle Motors acquired Crane Carrier Company (CCC) and since then grown production throughput at its Ohio manufacturing facility from 1 truck per day to 6 trucks per day, the company said.

With the latest financing, the company says it will expand production throughput to 16 trucks per day, fulfill existing order backlog, expand EV manufacturing capabilities, and cover general corporate costs. In addition to its other models, Battle Motors is now delivering its Class 8 severe-duty electric truck to refuse customers, and serves over 750 municipal customers through 180 dealers in over 320 locations across the United States and Canada.

Also today, the industrial battery maker Flux Power Holdings Inc. said it had tallied combined purchase orders from new and existing customers in excess of $64 million in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2022, which was more than 82% over the mark last year.

Vista, California-based Flux Power defines itself as a developer of advanced lithium-ion energy storage solutions for the electrification of commercial and industrial equipment. It serves primarily the material handling, airport ground support equipment (GSE), and stationary energy storage sectors.

“We believe new purchase orders in our fiscal year 2022 are a strong indicator of our potential to reach $70 million in annual revenue run rate in the near term. Our strategic initiatives to accelerate backlog conversion to shipments and increase inventory turns are also driving revenue results and gross margins that will lead toward profitability,” Flux CEO Ron Dutt said in a release. “Additional momentum is being driven by the accelerating ‘economy-wide’ renewable energy transition. The recently passed Inflation Reduction Act includes tax and other incentives that are aimed at significantly accelerating the adoption of zero-emission technologies for commercial vehicles. We believe our products will benefit as electrification extends to material handling and other equipment supported by Flux as customers transition their entire fleets to clean energy solutions.”

Battle Motors is excited to announce that we have completed a Series B investment round with $150 million in new growth capital from a cornerstone global institutional investor. Learn more: https://t.co/8iChzHqNSh #BattleMotors #ReadyToRoll #AssembledInAmerica pic.twitter.com/Blra49tvmX

— Battle Motors (@BattleMotors) September 6, 2022