Lightning eMotors ZEV3 electric van first to be Altoona certified, now qualifies for federal and state grants
Commercial electrification specialist Lightning eMotors is celebrating its latest company feat in the form of Altoona testing certification for its ZEV3 battery electric passenger van. By receiving certification of granular testing by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), the ZEV3 becomes the first Class 3 battery electric van to pass Altoona, meaning its purchases can now qualify for grants at both the federal and state level.
Lightning eMotors ($ZEV) designs, engineers, customizes, and manufactures a variety of EVs to support a growing array of needs for fleet customers. In addition to providing specialized electric conversions of existing platforms developed by other OEMs like Ford and GM, it has been offering its customers purpose-built EVs on its own proprietary platform since early 2022.
In addition to building EVs, Lightning eMotors has also begun exploring in other EV-adjacent technologies, like autonomous capabilities, wireless EV charging, and bolstered charging infrastructure under its Lightning Mobile arm.
Lightning’s ZEV4 passenger bus previously received Altoona testing certification from the FTA, a requirement in order for any electric bus to qualify for funds from federal and state governments participating in the FTA’s Low and No Emissions Grant program. The program consists of $4 billion in grant funding available over the next four years for the purchase or lease of zero emission transit buses like the ZEV4.
Today, Lightning eMotors announced that its all-electric ZEV3 passenger van has also become Altoona certified and will join the ZEV4 as a grant qualified transit vehicle.
Lightning eMotors’ electric van finds additional success
Lightning eMotors explained how rigorous the Altoona testing process was in order to ensure its electric vans can withstand the daily usage they will have to endure in transporting passengers around their respective cities.
Altoona certification consists of a standardized set of procedures that measure the vehicle’s maintainability, reliability, safety, performance, structural integrity, and noise pollution. Since the ZEV is also a battery electric vehicle, its testing process also included range and efficiency assessments. Lightning eMotors’ vice president of marketing and sales operations Nick Bettis spoke:
Fleet managers look to Altoona testing to ensure the vehicles they purchase are tested to meet the demands of transit usage for many years and thousands of miles. This certification confirms our ZEV3 passenger van can withstand the harshest of punishment and will keep occupants safe.
Transit agencies are becoming more interested in micro-transit and battery-electric vehicle solutions to supplement traditional buses. This shift has created the need for smaller vehicles to complete Altoona testing and become available. Our ZEV3 platform has long been one of our most popular with commercial fleet operators. Now, with Altoona testing certification, transit fleet managers can be confident the Lightning ZEV3 provides the durability needed for transit use and is eligible for FTA grants.
The ZEV3 is built upon a Ford Transit 350HD chassis which has been fully electrified to deliver up to 200 miles of range (depending on configuration) on a single charge; each Lightning electric van comes standard with both Level 2 AC charging and DC fast charge capabilities.
Lightning eMotors states it has delivered over 300 ZEV3 vans to date that have combined for over 3.3 million real world accumulated miles. With federal and state grants now available for new ZEV3 purchases, we’d expect to see that sales number grow through 2023.
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Environment
U.S. crude oil falls below $60 a barrel to lowest since 2021 on tariff-fueled recession fears
A view shows disused oil pump jacks at the Airankol oil field operated by Caspiy Neft in the Atyrau Region, Kazakhstan April 2, 2025.
Pavel Mikheyev | Reuters
U.S. oil prices dropped below $60 a barrel on Sunday on fears President Donald Trump’s global tariffs would push the U.S., and maybe the world, into a recession.
Futures tied to U.S. West Texas intermediate crude fell more than 3% to $59.74 on Sunday night. The move comes after back-to-back 6% declines last week. WTI is now at the lowest since April 2021.
Worries are mounting that tariffs could lead to higher prices for businesses, which could lead to a slowdown in economic activity that would ultimately hurt demand for oil.
Oil futures, 5 years
The tariffs, which are set to take effect this week, “would likely push the U.S. and possibly global economy into recession this year,” according to JPMorgan. The firm on Thursday raised its odds of a recession this year to 60% following the tariff rollout, up from 40%.
Fueled by incentives from the Illinois EPA and the state’s largest utility company, new EV registrations nearly quadrupled the 12% first-quarter increase in EV registrations nationally – and there are no signs the state is slowing down.
Despite the dramatic slowdown of Tesla’s US deliveries, sales of electric vehicles overall have perked up in recent months, with Illinois’ EV adoption rate well above the Q1 uptick nationally. Crain’s Chicago Business reports that the number of new EVs registered across the state totaled 9,821 January through March, compared with “just” 6,535 EVs registered in the state during the same period in 2024.
Those numbers represent more than 50% growth in EV registrations – far beyond the expected 12% first-quarter increase nationally being projected by Cox Automotive. (!)
What’s going on in Illinois?
While President Trump and Elmo were running for re-election, they campaigned on the threat promise of canceling the $7,500 federal tax credit for EVs. Along with California Governor Gavin Newsom, Illinois’ Governor JB Pritzker made countermoves – launching a $4,000 rebate for new electric cars and up to $1,500 for the purchase of a new electric motorcycle.
At the same time, the state’s largest utility, ComEd, launched a $90 million EV incentive program featuring a new Point of Purchase initiative to deliver instant discounts to qualifying business and public sector customers who make the switch to electric vehicles. That program has driven a surge in Class 3-6 medium duty commercial EVs, which are eligible fro $20-30,000 in utility rebates on top of federal tax credits and other incentives (Class 1-2 EVs are eligible for up to $7,500).
We covered the launch of those incentives when the program was announced at Chicago Drives Electric last year, but the message here is simple: incentives work.
SOURCES: Chicago Business, Ray Cunningham; featured image by the author.
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The electric construction equipment experts at XCMG just released a new, 25 ton electric crawler excavator ahead of bauma 2025 – and they have their eye on the global urban construction, mine operations, and logistical material handling markets.
Powered by a high-capacity 400 kWh lithium iron phosphate battery capable of delivering up to 8 hours of continuous operation, the XE215EV electric excavator promises uninterrupted operation at a lower cost of ownership and with even less downtime than its diesel counterparts.
XCMG is delivering on part of that reduced downtime promise with the lower maintenance and easier repair needs of electric equipment, and delivering on the rest of it with lickety-quick DC fast charging that can recharge the machine’s massive battery in 1.5-2 hours … but that’s not the slick bit. The XCMG XE125EV can be powered up without leaving the job site thanks to its BYD battery swap technology.
We first covered XCMG and its battery swap technology back in January, and covered similar battery-swap tech being developed by MOOG Construction offshoot ZQUIP, as well – but while XCMG’s battery tech has been in production for several years, it’s still not widely known about in the West (even within the industry).
XCMG showed off its latest electric equipment at the December 2024 bauma China, including an updated version of its of its 85-ton autonomous electric mining truck that features a fully cab-less design – meaning there isn’t even a place for an operator to sit, let alone operate. And that’s too bad, because what operator wouldn’t want to experience an electric truck putting down 1070 hp more than 16,000 lb-ft of torque!?
Easy in, easy out
The best part? All of the company’s heavy equipment assets – from excavators to terminal tractors to dump trucks and wheel loaders – all use the same 400 kWh BYD battery packs, Milwaukee tool style. That means an equipment fleet can utilize x number of vehicles with a fraction of the total battery capacity and material needs of other asset brands. That’s not just a smart use of limited materials, it’s a smarter use of energy.
You can check out all the XE215EV’s specs at this tear sheet, and get an in-person look at the Chinese company’s latest electric excavator this week in Munich, Germany.
SOURCE | IMAGES: XCMG.
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