Proterra, the California-based company that makes all-electric buses and EV parts including battery packs and charging stations, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection at the beginning of the week, according to Reuters, citing a difficulty in scaling up production efficiently.
As per the source, the company, which was established in 2004 in Colorado, intends to continue to operate in the ordinary course of business, planning to file all the necessary motions with the bankruptcy court to use existing capital to fund its operations.
"We have faced various market and macroeconomic headwinds that have impacted our ability to efficiently scale," Proterra CEO Gareth Joyce said in a statement quoted by Reuters.
Back in January, the EV manufacturer and supplier announced plans to cut about 300 jobs as part of a restructuring action that aimed to combine electric bus and battery production in South Carolina.
Gallery: Proterra electric buses
Currently, Proterra builds and sells the ZX5 all-electric transit bus that’s available in two lengths: 35 feet and 40 feet.
The ZX5 35-ft model can seat up to 29 people, has a battery capacity of up to 492 kilowatt-hours and a maximum range of 240 miles, and is powered by a 322 horsepower electric motor that can enable a 0 to 20 miles per hour acceleration in 6.2 seconds.
The bigger, 40 ft variant can seat up to 40 people and has a maximum battery capacity of 738 kWh, enabling a range of up to 340 miles on a full charge.
At the same time, however, Proterra supplies components to other brands, such as Volta, which uses a battery pack made by the American company for its Zero medium-duty all-electric truck. Thomas Built Buses also used Proterra’s EV tech for its zero-emissions school buses.
Gallery: Proterra EV charging solutions
Reuters writes that the California-based firm’s shares nearly halved in value after the stock market bell rang on Monday, with its assets and liabilities listed in the range of $500 million to $1 billion and a market value of $362 million. Back in January 2021, Proterra was valued at $1.6 billion, including debt, after it went public with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) ArcLight Clean Transition Corp.
In related news, electric pickup startup Lordstown Motors filed for bankruptcy in June and, at the same time, sued its main investor Foxconn, claiming that the technology company committed fraud and failed to live up to its commercial and financial commitments.
As always, we’d like to know what you think about this, so head over to the comments section below to give us your thoughts.
