(Credit: Lightning eMotors)Lightning eMotors, provider of zero-emission, medium-duty commercial vehicles and electric vehicle technology for fleets, and Perrone Robotics have partnered to offer Class 3 - 7 commercial fleet customers an autonomous electric fleet option. As demand for sustainable fleet solutions rises, campuses, logistics yards, downtown business districts, resorts, and other similar organizations and municipalities are seeking EV and, increasingly, AV solutions.
The first vehicles resulting from the partnership were purchased by the PIDC, Philadelphia's public-private economic development corporation, for use within the Philadelphia Navy Yard; they will be delivered this summer.
The partnership expands Lightning’s zero-emissions EV platform offerings to include Perrone’s AV-powered technology, Tony, a vehicle-independent retrofit kit designed to enable vehicles to transport people and goods in geo-fenced and dedicated driving routes.
Initially, Lightning will deploy Perrone’s technology into two product categories, including fully autonomous Level 4 application environments with dedicated routes such as college campuses, and Level 2 applications for commercial vehicles.
Level 2 autonomous vehicles are seeing rising demand, especially for transit vehicle operators, which can benefit from safety features such as lane-keeping capability, adaptive cruise control and forward collision avoidance. All of these features are now available among Lightning’s platform offerings and will be powered by lidar technology, fused with radar to add an additional layer of redundancy that’s important for all Lightning applications, the company says.
“The company technology is suitable for all manner of vehicles — it’s been installed on everything from golf carts to three-story-high mining trucks,” says Nick Pilipowskyj, vice president of business operations for Perrone (via The Loveland Reporter-Herald). He added, however, that the biggest demand right now is on light delivery vehicles and buses, which “made Lightning an important partner.”
Until recently, Lightning eMotors has specialized in electrifying platforms developed by other OEMs. However, the commercial EV manufacturer can now offer its fleet customers purpose-built EVs on its own proprietary platform as well.
