School bus manufacturer Blue Bird Corp. has now exceeded 400 electric-powered school buses delivered or on order within the last three years.

As previously reported, Blue Bird announced in September 2020 that it was ramping up its electric bus production capacity to 1,000 units annually to meet anticipated growth in demand.

With momentum building, the school bus manufacturer now expects electric bus sales to increase further before the end of 2021, according to a news release from Blue Bird. The school bus manufacturer is reportedly the only bus manufacturer that produces and sells today all three school-bus body configurations — Type A, C, and D buses — in electric.

“We achieved almost three-fold growth in electric bus sales last year and are pleased to see fast-paced growth again as we start off 2021,” said Phil Horlock, president and CEO of Blue Bird Corp. “The shift to zero-emission transportation is a reality and a commitment for us. With more than 7,000 active customers today…I would expect to see the number of Blue Bird electric buses on the road grow to over 1,000 next year.”

Several Blue Bird electric school bus deliveries have already taken place during the 2020-21 school year, including deliveries in Texas, California, Indiana, and Alabama.

With President Joe Biden’s announcement of his 100-day plan to get children back to school, as well as his plan to replace the federal fleet with American-made electric vehicles, Blue Bird expects municipalities to incorporate more zero-emission vehicles into their existing transportation infrastructure, which includes more than 500,000 school buses, according to the school bus manufacturer.

Blue Bird’s electric vehicle ecosystem is designed to help school bus dealers and school districts access funding, infrastructure, and training, in addition to providing operating assistance that can potentially help save them money while reducing emissions, according to Blue Bird.

Learn more about Blue Bird’s electric school buses.