LOVELAND, Colo. – Lightning eMotors, a leading provider of zero-emission, medium-duty commercial vehicles and electric vehicle technology for fleets, announced that its Class 3 Lightning ZEV3 all-electric passenger van has received Altoona testing certification. This certification is given by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and is a longstanding testing procedure for buses.
The Lightning ZEV3 is the first, and currently only, battery-electric class 3 passenger van that has passed Altoona testing. This certification verifies the safety and durability of the vehicle and ensures that, along with the Lightning ZEV4™ shuttle bus which passed Altoona previously, the Class 3 ZEV3 passenger van qualifies for purchase or lease with grants from federal and state governments taking part in the FTA’s Low and No Emissions Grant program.
Transit vehicles must pass Altoona testing to be eligible for purchase using the over $4 billion in grant funding available over the next four years for the purchase or lease of zero or low-emission transit buses. The availability of these funds will allow fleets to transition to electric vehicles more quickly, helping organizations and companies lower their carbon footprint.
“Fleet managers look to Altoona testing to ensure the vehicles they purchase are tested to meet the demands of transit usage for many years and thousands of miles,” said Nick Bettis, Vice President of Marketing and Sales Operations at Lightning eMotors. “This certification confirms our ZEV3 passenger van can withstand the harshest of punishment and will keep occupants safe.”
Transit vehicles experience rigorous daily usage, and Altoona testing verifies vehicles are up to the task. Certification involves a standardized set of procedures, designed to measure the vehicle’s maintainability, reliability, safety, performance, structural integrity, and noise. For battery-electric vehicles such as Lightning’s ZEV3, testing also involves range and efficiency assessments.
In use with fleets across North America for micro-transit and shuttle services, the two-battery Lightning ZEV3 passenger van is equipped with a state-of-the-art electric drivetrain that delivers the best efficiency of any vehicle in its weight class, in addition to providing a quiet, smooth and familiar driving experience. The van is powered by thermally managed batteries, offering the best range, efficiency and lifetime of any batteries in the market. Lightning’s ZEV3 boasts up to 200 miles of range (depending on configuration) and comes standard with both Level 2 AC charging and DC Fast Charge capabilities. Lightning has fielded over 300 Lightning ZEV3 vans to date and those vehicles have accumulated over 3.3 million real-world miles.
