Challenges cited by the company included parts shortages, inflation, and other costs associated with starting up production at the new battery plant in South Carolina.

The move is a cost-cutting measure which will allow Proterra to concentrate its manufacturing activities at its two sites in South Carolina.

The 327,000-sq-ft factory is now open and is producing not only batteries but drivetrains and other “ancillary equipment” such as high voltage junction boxes.

Proterra will provide its S-Series battery systems, designed for medium- and heavy-duty transit applications and supplying up to 123 kWh per pack, beginning next year.

Soell will lead Proterra Transit, the business unit responsible for the production and marketing of electric transit buses. 

The range of the ZX5, equipped with a 738-kWh battery, will exceed 300 miles, which Proterra claims will give it the largest energy storage of any 40-foot electric bus model on the market in North America.

Proterra has announced that it has been awarded multiple ‘TRUE’ (Total Resource Use and Efficiency) certificates for its manufacturing facilities – a first in the electric vehicle industry, according to Green Business Certification Inc.

The new ‘Blue Arc’ brand of electric delivery vans by The Shyft Group will be powered by batteries supplied by Proterra Inc, following a multi-year agreement struck between the two companies.

The microgrid, which will serve the Valley Transportation Authority in Santa Clara County, California, will be able to charge up to 34 electric buses at a time.

According to the terms of the multi-year agreement, Proterra will start delivering prototype battery systems to Nikola in Q2 2022, with the aim of fitting new trucks with its batteries beginning in Q4.

Proterra will supply a minimum of 600 vehicles, including Vicinity Lightning transit buses and Vicinity Motor's truck chassis platform, with batteries through 2024.

BYD has been targeted in a total ban on federal transit funding for manufacturers linked to China, which came into effect on 20th December 2021.