The largest bus and transport services vehicle dealer in the US, Creative Bus Sales, is teaming up with Forest River Bus to meet the surging demand for zero-emission paratransit electric vans. Creative Bus Sales says it will have 1,000 Ford E-Transit EVs customized by Forest river available by the end of 2022.
Zero-emission electric vehicles are rolling out at a record pace, yet it’s still not quick enough.
In particular, electric vans and buses are in low supply due to parts shortages that stem from ongoing supply chain bottlenecks and even more so when it comes to paratransit EVs.
As a leading commercial van producer, Ford has done its part in releasing the fully electric E-Transit. Customers began disclosing E-Transit sales in July 2022, reporting a demanding 95% share of the electric van market.
Although several competitors have released electric vans since, the Ford E-Transit remains in high demand, selling 770 in October for a total of 5,157 in 2022.
Meanwhile, with limited supply and surging demand for electric vans, organizations and municipalities are having a hard time filling their fleets.
Several transportation trade groups took it upon themselves, writing a letter to US Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, shedding light on the crisis and urging the government to step in. The letter stated:
We need your assistance in securing more chassis for the small bus marketplace so the trips to vital health care appointments (like dialysis); to congregate meal sites and grocery stores; to work and education; and to other social services that these types of buses typically serve can safely continue.
Creative Bus Sales is working with Forest River to address the situation with custom Ford E-Transit vans.
The nation’s largest bus dealer says it has nearly 1,000 FTA-compliant Ford E-Transit EV vans available to help meet the overwhelming demand.
According to the company, the electric chassis Ford E-Transit uses around 40% fewer parts and labor to build, making it an ideal option to help solve the crisis.
TJ Matijevich, VP and General Manager of Creative Bus Sales, explains the benefits of the new partnership, stating:
We are proud to offer the largest quantity of Ford E-Transit vehicles and provide a quick solution to a pressing need.
Creative Bus says it will significantly expand the availability of its custom Ford E-Transit through 2023, as Mr. Matijevich adds:
This solution enables many organizations to introduce electrified vehicles into their fleet for the first time, without the need for extensive charging infrastructure or a heavy cost burden to manage. We see this as a turning point for many cities and businesses that haven’t yet stepped into electrified vehicles.
The custom Ford E-Transit features flexible seating with room for 12 passengers or up to two ADA-approved wheelchair positions. The custom electric van includes a 5-year, 100,000-mile warranty, and an 8-year battery warranty through Ford. Take a look at the specs below.
Base Chassis: Ford Transit 350 (medium roof)
Motor: Ford OEM electric motor
Power: 198 kW/ 266 hp
Battery: 68 kWh
On Board Power: 10.5 kW
Accessibility: rear power wheelchair lift (optional)
Cargo: rear luggage area (optional)
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The sun has set on a frantic day of scrutineering at this year’s Electrek Formula Sun Grand Prix (FSGP), as teams scramble to qualify for a spot on the starting line tomorrow morning. Electrek FSGP 2025 is shaping up to be one of the event’s most attended ever, thanks to a strong showing of first-time and returning schools. But that also means new and unproven vehicles on the track.
Today, I walked through a couple of bays and talked with a few of the teams able to spare a minute; almost all of them were debuting completely new cars that were years in the making. Building a solar car is no easy feat. It’s not just the engineering and technical know-how that’s often a hurdle for them; it’s more often monetary. However, one of the things that makes this event so special is the camaraderie and collaboration that happen behind the scenes.
Northwestern University is back with a completely new car this season, its eighth since the team’s original inception in 1997 during the GM Sunrayce days. Its motor controller, which is responsible for managing the flow of power from the batteries to the motor, was given to them by the Stanford team. Stanford had extras and could spare one for Northwestern, which needed a replacement. It doesn’t stop there. Two members of the Northwestern team (Shannon and Fiona) told me four other teams helped them with a serious tire replacement around 1 a.m. Wednesday morning, saving them from missing important parts of scrutineering.
This is also an exciting year for the West Virginia team, which is celebrating its 35th anniversary as a solar car team, making them one of the oldest teams on the track. With age comes wisdom though: WV is competing again this year with its single-occupant vehicle, Sunseeker. The team ran into issues after last year’s American Solar Challenge (ASC) cross-country event when the vehicle’s control arm, an important part of the suspension that connects the wheels to the chassis, broke. They tell me this year they’re back with a completely redesigned control arm made of both aluminum and steel. Thank you, Hayley, John, and Izzy, for taking the time to talk.
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We’re also seeing new builds this year from the University of Florida, the University of Puerto Rico, NC State, and UC Irvine. Believe it or not, the latter team has never competed in an American Solar Challenge/Formula Sun Grand Prix. This is their first year. UC Irvine doesn’t expect to be on the starting line tomorrow but hopes to be on the track soon after.
University of Puerto RicoUniversity of California Irvine
On the other hand, we have tried-and-proven cars like my personal favorite, Polytechnique Montréal’s Esteban, which undergoes minor improvements each year. I talked a little bit with this team today, and they told me the car’s motor was dropped, disassembled, and cleaned in preparation for the event. Polytechnique Montréal has passed scrutineering and will appear on the starting line tomorrow.
Polytechnique Montréal
Teams that haven’t wrapped up scrutineering in the last three days can still complete it, though doing so will eat into time on track.
You can learn more about the different classes and the specific rules here.
I’ll continue to post more updates as the event continues!
2025 Electrek FSGP schedule
The 2025 Electrek FSGP will again be held at the National Corvette Museum Motorsports Park in Bowling Green, Kentucky, which, interestingly enough, General Motors occasionally uses for Corvette testing and development. A bit of a full-circle moment being so close to the company that started it all.
The event is open to the public and FREE to attend. Come see the solar car race up close!
Racing starts on July 3 from 10am to 6pm CT and continues through July 5 from 9am to 5pm CT.
Featured image via Cora Kennedy for Electrek FSGP/ASC.
Note: The Formula Sun Grand Prix is not in any way associated or affiliated with the Formula 1 companies, FORMULA 1 racing, or the FIA Formula One World Championship.
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Tesla’s Q2 results are in, and they are way, way down from Q2 of 2024. At the same time, Nissan seems to be in serious trouble and the first-ever all-electric Dodge muscle car is getting recalled because its dumb engine noises are the wrong kind of dumb engine noises. All this and more on today’s deeply troubled episode of Quick Charge!
We’ve also got an awesome article from Micah Toll about a hitherto unexplored genre of electric lawn equipment, a $440 million mining equipment deal, and a list of incompetent, corrupt, and stupid politicians who voted away their constituents’ futures to line their pockets.
New episodes of Quick Charge are recorded, usually, Monday through Thursday (and sometimes Sunday). We’ll be posting bonus audio content from time to time as well, so be sure to follow and subscribe so you don’t miss a minute of Electrek’s high-voltage daily news.
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Got news? Let us know! Drop us a line at tips@electrek.co. You can also rate us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or recommend us in Overcast to help more people discover the show.
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“These ‘OpenAI tokens’ are not OpenAI equity,” OpenAI wrote on X. “We did not partner with Robinhood, were not involved in this, and do not endorse it.”
The company said that “any transfer of OpenAI equity requires our approval — we did not approve any transfer,” and warned users to “please be careful.”
Robinhood announced the launch Monday from Cannes, France, as part of a broader product showcase focused on tokenized equities, staking, and a new blockchain infrastructure play. The company’s stock surged above $100 to hit a new all-time high following the news.
“These tokens give retail investors indirect exposure to private markets, opening up access, and are enabled by Robinhood’s ownership stake in a special purpose vehicle,” a Robinhood spokesperson said in response to the OpenAI post.
Read more CNBC tech news
Robinhood offered 5 euros worth of OpenAI and SpaceX tokens to eligible EU users who signed up to trade stock tokens by July 7. The assets are issued under the EU’s looser investor restrictions via Robinhood’s crypto platform.
“This is about expanding access,” said Johann Kerbrat, Robinhood’s SVP and GM of crypto. “The goal with tokenization is to let anyone participate in this economy.”
The episode highlights the dynamic between crypto platforms seeking to democratize access to financial products and the companies whose names and equity are being represented on-chain
U.S. users cannot access these tokens due to regulatory restrictions.