ONTARIO, Calif. — Forest River Inc., Creative Bus Sales, and Phoenix Motorcars have formed an alliance to jointly develop, build, and distribute electric buses and shuttles.

As part of the agreement, Phoenix Motorcars will be the supplier of electric drivetrains for all shuttle and school buses built by Forest River on the Ford E450 chassis with the Starcraft Bus body. Creative Bus Sales will be the exclusive factory representative for the range of products sold under the agreement.

Starcraft Bus, a division of Forest River Inc., is a North American shuttle bus and school bus manufacturer.

"Forest River is the leading shuttle bus manufacturer in the country and this partnership with Phoenix Motorcars enables us to maintain that edge,” said David Wright, president of Forest River Bus.

“Matched with industry leading [electric vehicle] solutions from Phoenix Motorcars and the unparalleled network of Creative Bus Sales, switching to electric will be an easy and seamless process for customers."

Creative Bus Sales will exclusively sell and service the new range of electric shuttle and school buses across its U.S. locations. Phoenix Motorcars will train and certify technicians across the dealer’s locations to perform warranty repairs and service.  

"Together with Forest River and Phoenix Motorcars, we bring the most competent electric buses to our customers,” said Tony Matijevich, president of Creative Bus Sales. “Phoenix Motorcars is the industry leader in the Class 4 electric shuttle bus segment. We are excited to be working together and bringing best in class products supported by our superior sales and service network."

The shuttle buses and school buses will be powered by Phoenix Motorcars’ latest electric drivetrain technology, offering up to 130 miles range on a single charge. The vehicles offer dual charging capability, compatible to both the Level III 50-kilowatt CHAdeMO charger and a J1772 Level II charger.

Along with the change, the cutaway chassis will continue to offer multiple seating configurations. The electric buses will also be equipped with telematics solutions, offering real time operating information for fleet owners and remote diagnostics for service.

"The synergy between Forest River, Creative Bus Sales, and Phoenix Motor Cars will bring the best electric powered transportation solutions to customers across the United States,” said Emad Fakhoury, CEO of Phoenix Motorcars. “Phoenix is continuing to invest in developing cutting edge electric drivetrain technologies and with such great alliance will accelerate the advancement of zero-emission transportation."

Phoenix Motorcars-powered Starcraft electric buses will be available starting in the second quarter of 2019.