One year ago Vicinity Motor Corp. (VMC) began deliveries of their Class 3 all-electric trucks as they rolled off their Canadian assembly line in Aldergrove.
This week the supplier of commercial electric vehicles (EVs) hosted the grand opening ceremony of a new 100,000-square-foot campus less than 20 miles south in Ferndale, Washington.
With an annual assembly capacity of up to 850 low- and zero-emission buses and 6,250 Class 3 all-electric trucks, the state-of-the-art facility will immediately start cutting into VMC’s order backlog of more than $150 million, which includes recent deals with Lafarge Canada, Transdev and Pioneer Auto Group.
“Strong demand for our newest EV, the VMC 1200 electric commercial truck, is being driven by municipal, landscaping, transportation, shipping and logistics leaders that are seeking to reduce costs and carbon emissions while running more efficient fleets,” said VMC Chief Executive Officer Will Trainer.
“With light- and medium-duty EV inventories across North America projected to top one million by 2030 and six million by 2040, I’m excited to see our business firing on all cylinders, and am immensely proud of the work our team has put into designing and building a world-class manufacturing facility.”
In addition to assembly and upfitting, the Ferndale campus will be used to conduct pre-delivery inspections, research and development, and general technical and servicing work. VMC vehicles being assembled there include the ultra-quiet VMC 1200 Class 3 electric truck and the Vicinity Classic and Lightning mid-size.
While speaking at the grand opening, Washington Governor Jay Inslee applauded VMC for helping to diversify the state economy, supporting fleet operators’ decarbonization initiatives, and providing new employment opportunities for families in the region.
“Here in Washington, we’re working on electrifying everything from ferries and trains to automobiles and buses,” said Inslee. “Companies like Vicinity are making it possible for us to decarbonize the transportation sector and defeat the climate crisis, all while creating family-wage jobs for Washingtonians.”
The Ferndale campus will also improve access to nearby port, rail and truck shipping and receiving infrastructure. After being awarded a $300,000 economic development strategic reserve fund (SRF) grant to support VMC, the Port of Bellingham’s Port Commission President Michael Shepard said: “Vicinity Motors is a terrific addition to Whatcom County’s growing clean-tech economy. There is tremendous demand for electric buses in the United States and the sky is the limit for Vicinity. The Port is proud to be able to help another Canadian company expand into the US market while creating family-wage jobs for Whatcom County residents and accelerating the transition to a sustainable public transit system.”
To support the immediate ramp up of operations at Ferndale, VMC recently supplemented a $30-million credit facility with the Royal Bank of Canada and Export Development Canada (EDC) with a further $9-million working capital credit facility with EDC.
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