Phoenix Motorcars, a manufacturer of all-electric, medium-duty vehicles, and Pegasus Specialty Vehicles, have established a strategic partnership to jointly develop Type A electric school buses, targeted for the North American market.

The agreement targets a minimum of 300 Type A school buses to be built within the next three years, with Phoenix being responsible for providing the electric drivetrain chassis and Pegasus for providing the final vehicle assembly, including the body and cab. Phoenix and Pegasus will launch commercial sales and marketing activities promoting Phoenix-electrified Pegasus Orion Type A school buses across the United States market.

“We are delighted to have formed this partnership with a company of Pegasus’ caliber to support the execution of Phoenix’s next stage of growth,” said Lance Zhou, Phoenix Motorcars CEO. “Our collaboration with Pegasus is another component of our 'asset-light' business model, enabling us to bring our Gen 4 vehicles to market in an efficient, cost-effective manner, while exceeding the highest standards of quality. We should see increasing demand for school bus electrification in the years ahead as the adoption of zero emission buses continues to grow.”

“When we started Pegasus, our goal was to be able to offer multiple EV options for our dealers and customers," said Brian Barrington, Pegasus Specialty Vehicles president. "By partnering with Phoenix Motorcars, we are able to offer the reliable Ford E-series platform with a state-of-the-art EV drive system. We couldn’t be happier with the relationship with the Phoenix team and we look forward to being able to round out our EV solutions for our dealers."