Partnership will accelerate autonomous shuttle offerings for
transit authorities across America
VANCOUVER, BC, Nov. 8, 2021 /CNW/ -- GreenPower Motor Company
Inc. (NASDAQ: GP) (TSXV: GPV) ("GreenPower"), a leading
manufacturer and distributor of zero emission electric-powered
vehicles, together with Perrone Robotics, a leading provider of
fully autonomous vehicle (AV) technology and turnkey vehicle
solutions for the mobility of people and things, today announced
their Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) agreement. Under this
new agreement, the two companies will continue to build on the
success of the original AV Star developed for the Jacksonville
Transportation Authority (JTA) in 2019. The original AV Star was
developed to meet a growing demand in the transit and
transportation sector where reliable mobility was a requirement to
expand accessibility options for all end-users. Once deployed in
2019, the JTA AV Star became the nation's first fully autonomous,
all electric, ADA-compliant, and FMVSS certified vehicle. The base
EV Star vehicle is also Altoona tested and Buy America
compliant.
Today with the success of this project, GreenPower and Perrone
Robotics have come together to deliver the next generation of the
AV Star. Through this OEM agreement, GreenPower's EV Star, a
multi-purpose, zero-emission, min-E Bus will be upfitted with
Perrone's TONY® (short for "To Navigate You") autonomous vehicle
retrofit kit, which will transform the EV Star to the AV Star.
Built on the same highly rated chassis as the EV Star and combined
with Perrone's reliable autonomous vehicle platform, makes the AV
star one of the most transit ready vehicles capable of autonomy in
the market.
"Through Perrone's leading autonomy solution combined with our
purpose-built, all -electric vehicles, we are able to provide the
industry with reliable, innovative solutions together. This is the
most compelling autonomous transit solution out there, and we are
honored to partner with the true industry leader," said
Fraser Atkinson, CEO of GreenPower.
"This vehicle is going to be a market leading gamechanger, and we
are looking forward to offering market-proven solutions at the
national level.
This is an important milestone not only for Perrone and
GreenPower, but the industry as a whole," continued Atkinson. "As
we kick off the first day at the American Public Transit
Association (APTA) Conference and Expo, we're excited to showcase
this breakthrough new platform to thousands of industry
stakeholders at this prestigious event."
"This new OEM agreement is an important step in delivering large
capacity road-worthy AV mobility options for the transit and
transportation industry," stated Paul
Perrone, Founder and CEO of Perrone Robotics, Inc. "Our
ability to meet evolving customer needs depends on our ability to
work with partners like GreenPower with vehicle solutions that fill
specific customer demands in the transit space. This is a critical
step in the scale of autonomous vehicle solutions across the
transit and transportation value chain. Cost-effective,
zero-emissions, reliable autonomy that can extend end-user
accessibility is the future of mobility. This relationship with
GreenPower continues to validate why Perrone Robotics is the
autonomy solution of choice, for vehicle manufacturers, customers,
and AV passengers alike."
The AV Star aims to be a leading mobility and transportation
choice for cities, municipalities, public and private campuses. The
vehicle is capable of carrying up to 16 passengers, is ADA
compliant, FMVSS compliant, and can travel at highway speeds. These
are important and critical features driven by the vision for the
future of autonomous transit.
The AV Star is currently being proved out in the industry
through the company's work with the Jacksonville Transit Authority
(JTA) and U2C to undergo testing for transit applications.
APTA Expo
GreenPower will exhibit at the American
Public Transportation Association Expo (APTA) in Orlando, FL on Nov.
8-10, 2021. APTA attendees can learn more about GreenPower's
electric vehicle offerings at Booth #2321 and check out
GreenPower's AV Star at Perrone's booth #2313.
AV Star Demonstration
GreenPower and Perrone
will be hosting a Ride & Drive event featuring the AV Star on
Monday and Tuesday from 10-4:30 and Wednesday from 10-1 at West
Hall C - Circular Entrance.
Panel with Jacksonville Transit Authority at
APTA
APTA attendees can learn more about the AV Star
during a panel hosted by Perrone Robotics on Nov 9, from 2:40 – 3:10 in the Hot Topics
Learning Zone Booth #3261.
Panel participants include, Perrone Robotics CEO and Founder,
Paul Perrone, with Jacksonville
Transportation Authority, Chief Executive Officer, Nathaniel "Nat"
P. Ford Sr. and moderated by transportation and mobility executive
Richard "Dick" Alexander of Mobility360. The session topic
"Perspectives on Procuring and Implementing Autonomous
Transportation Programs" will provide a unique perspective on AV
on-road deployments.
About GreenPower Motor Company Inc.
GreenPower
designs, builds and distributes a full suite of high-floor and
low-floor all-electric medium and heavy-duty vehicles, including
transit buses, school buses, shuttles, cargo van and a cab and
chassis. GreenPower employs a clean-sheet design to manufacture
all-electric vehicles that are purpose built to be battery powered
with zero emissions while integrating global suppliers for key
components. This OEM platform allows GreenPower to meet the
specifications of various operators while providing standard parts
for ease of maintenance and accessibility for warranty
requirements. GreenPower was founded in Vancouver, Canada with primary operational
facilities in southern California.
Listed on the Toronto exchange
since November 2015, GreenPower
completed its U.S. IPO and NASDAQ listing in August 2020. For further information go to
www.greenpowermotor.com.
About Perrone Robotics, Inc.
Perrone is a leading
provider of fully autonomous vehicle systems. The company delivers
mobility excellence via TONY® (short for "TO Navigate You"), a
vehicle independent retrofit kit for use in the autonomous transit
of people and goods in geo-fenced and localized operations. TONY
embeds inside any vehicle for any job to provide a complete
"artificial driver" solution that brings full autonomy in a safety
certifiable framework. Proven, piloted and in commercial
production, Perrone autonomous systems help commercial, municipal,
and governmental customers increase transportation efficiencies,
enhance safety, and accelerate zero-emission electric vehicle
deployment. The company also offers a portfolio of existing turnkey
autonomous shuttles and vehicles pre-integrated with the TONY
retrofit kit. Learn more @ www.perronerobotics.com or
follow us @perronerobotics.
Forward-Looking Statements
This document contains
forward-looking statements relating to, among other things,
GreenPower's business and operations and the environment in which
it operates, which are based on GreenPower's operations, estimates,
forecasts and projections. Forward-looking statements are not based
on historical facts, but rather on current expectations and
projections about future events, and are therefore subject to risks
and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ
materially from the future results expressed or implied by the
forward-looking statements. These statements generally can be
identified by the use of forward-looking words such as "upon",
"may", "should", "will", "could", "intend", "estimate", "plan",
"anticipate", "expect", "believe" or "continue", or the negative
thereof or similar variations. These statements are not guarantees
of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that are
difficult to predict or are beyond GreenPower's control. A number
of important factors including those set forth in other public
filings (filed under the Company's profile on www.sedar.com) could
cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially from those
expressed in these forward-looking statements. Consequently,
readers should not place any undue reliance on such forward-looking
statements. In addition, these forward-looking statements relate to
the date on which they are made. GreenPower disclaims any intention
or obligation to update or revise any forward looking statements
whether as a result of new information, future events or
otherwise.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services
Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX
Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or
accuracy of this release. ©2021 GreenPower Motor Company Inc. All
rights reserved.
Media and Investor Contacts:
Allie Potter, Skyya PR
allie@skyya.com
Mike Cole, Investor Relations
mike.cole@greenpowermotor.com
(949) 444-1341
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SOURCE GreenPower Motor Company