XL Fleet, a company that specializes in vehicle electrification solutions for commercial and municipal fleets, says Essential Utilities Inc., one of the largest publicly traded water, wastewater and natural gas providers in the U.S., is launching a pilot program to electrify its two most popular commercial GM vehicle platforms with the XLH hybrid electric drive system.
The initial pilot will include installing an XL Fleet hybrid system onto a GMC Sierra 2500 HD pickup truck and GMC Savanna Express van, two of Essential’s most widely deployed vehicles in its water and natural gas divisions for applications including customer service, field service and distribution. Essential, headquartered in Bryn Mawr, Pa., deploys a fleet of approximately 2,500 of these vehicles across 10 states. If the pilot is successful on the first two platforms, Essential plans on electrifying a larger percentage of its fleet with XL Fleet’s hybrid and plug-in hybrid electric drive systems beginning in 2021.
“XL Fleet’s electrified powertrain technology is a perfect fit for companies like Essential, who are looking to immediately electrify their fleet vehicles, but also have demanding drive cycles and performance requirements that need to be met,” says Brian Piern, vice president of sales and marketing at XL Fleet. We are excited to be partnering with Essential as they begin their journey toward a more sustainable fleet.”
XL Fleet remains on track to complete its previously announced merger agreement with Pivotal Investment Corp. II, a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company, by the end of December. Upon closing, the combined company will be named XL Fleet Corp.
