Lightning Commercial EV Talk

Welcome to our podcast! We cover a range of topics relating to commercial EVs, such as battery range, Zero Emission Zones in cities, technology, legislation, incentives and more. Subscribe to the podcast on your favorite platform, and stay informed!

Channel description

Electric commercial vehicles are here, and fleets need to have a clear understanding of, and plan for, what this means to them. This podcast, presented by Lightning eMotor’s industry experts and guests, will cover all things commercial EV from industry trends to vehicle and charging technical considerations. Our goal is to ensure that you have all the information you need to successfully deploy and maintain your fleet of electric buses, trucks, and delivery vans.

Episodes

(most recent first)

March 4, 2023 – The Fleet Electrification Equation: 6. Funding and Incentives

Money doesn’t grow on trees, but there’s certainly free money available for fleets looking to deploy commercial electric vehicles. Programs from the EPA and the FTA, as well as money released by the Inflation Reduction Act, can go a long way to reduce your up-front costs. And there are some valuable State programs too. Lightning’s Colin Wilhelm explains it all in this video. Episode 6 of the Fleet Electrification Equation.

Watch this episode on YouTube! Captions available.

March 4, 2023 – The Fleet Electrification Equation: 5. Financing and Leasing

Did you know it’s possible to deploy electric commercial vehicles with no up-front costs? And with the operational savings of fueling and maintenance, monthly lease costs are very affordable. Lightning’s Ross Reida explains the financing options available to Lightning’s EV customers. Episode 5 of the Fleet Electrification Equation.

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March 4, 2023 – The Fleet Electrification Equation: 4. Service and Support

Electric vehicles are safe and reliable, but they do require some minor maintenance; and they may occasionally need repair. Uptime is often a fleet’s top concern, so in this podcast Lightning’s Ben Schroder shares what it takes to optimize EV uptime. Episode 4 of the Fleet Electrification Equation.

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March 4, 2023 – The Fleet Electrification Equation: 3. Software

Managing your electric vehicle fleet becomes much easier if you take advantage of available software, allowing you to see vehicle status, location and efficiency history, and allowing you to manage your charging station activity too. Lightning’s Brandon McNeil tells us what’s on offer and what it can do for you. Episode 3 of the Fleet Electrification Equation.

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March 4, 2023 – The Fleet Electrification Equation: 2. Charging Infrastructure

Purchasing electric commercial vehicles is one thing; charging them is another. Lightning’s Brandon McNeil demystifies the topic in this podcast. Episode 2 of the Fleet Electrification Equation.

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March 4, 2023 – The Fleet Electrification Equation: 1. Vehicles

Probably the most obvious step in deploying an electric commercial vehicle fleet is selecting the right vehicles. Lightning’s Roger Vartanian explains what you need to know. Episode 1 of the Fleet Electrification Equation.

Watch this episode on YouTube! Captions available.

December 9, 2022 – What’s up with the commercial EV market?

Lightning’s CEO Tim Reeser provides his thoughts on the state of the commercial EV market at the end of 2022, and on Lightning eMotor’s position currently and going forward.

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October 13, 2022 – The Inflation Reduction Act

The Federal Government is promoting electric transportation like never before, not just with words but with serious money. The recently-passed Inflation Reduction Act includes $500 billion for electric commercial vehicles, charging infrastructure and more. In this episode of our podcast, Lightning’s Funding and Policy Manager Colin Wilhelm talks to CEO Tim Reeser about what this act contains and how it’ll accelerate electric adoption with fleets.

Watch this episode on YouTube! Captions available.

May 26, 2022 – EV emissions

Are EVs really zero-emissions vehicles, or does the same amount of CO2 simply get generated elsewhere? What types of pollution are there, and how do Lightning’s commercial EVs stack up for clean air? Find out in this episode!

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January 28, 2022 – 2021 Was a Pivotal Year

CEO Tim Reeser looks back at 2021, a year in which we forged new partnerships, released new products, and – not least – went public on the New York Stock Exchange.

December 22, 2020 – Service and Support

Fleets who put our electric commercial vehicles on the road need to sure that they’ll be fully supported for maximum uptime. We talk about how we make sure that’s the case for our customers.

September 16, 2020 – Pricing

Commercial electric vehicles have always been expensive, but that’s changing. As the industry sees increased volumes, the entire supply chain becomes less expensive, especially batteries. We discuss this inflection point in the market, and why fleets can benefit right now from reduced prices.

September 3, 2020 – Charging a fleet of electric vehicles

Don’t be one of those fleets that forgets to think about how you’re going to charge the electric vehicles you’re planning to deploy! Start the conversation early. Nick and Tim talk about a range of topics relating to charging, such as why you need DC fast chargers for larger vehicles, why a microgrid might be a good idea, and how to take advantage of state incentives to monetize your charger use.

August 25, 2020 – Can the legacy OEMs deliver?

Lightning Systems may be small, but we’re going to deliver more electric commercial vehicles to fleets in the USA this year than Ford and Daimler combined. Many fleets are waiting for the big OEMs to deliver vehicles in volume, but that wait may be quite a long one. In the meantime, if fleets don’t act now, they may miss the bus. Or truck…

July 30, 2020 – Zero Emissions Zones

Our topic for this episode is Zero Emissions Zones, which are city regions where there are restrictions on the use of fossil fuel vehicles. The most famous example is London; but other cities are implementing ZEZs. Host Nick Bettis talks with Lightning CEO Tim Reeser and with our special guest Michael Marx, director of CorpEthics. Michael can be contacted at the corpethics.org website. We discuss how zero emissions zones can accelerate the adoption of electric commercial vehicles, and how companies and citizens can press for ZEZs in their own cities.

July 22, 2020 – Demystifying commercial EV range

In our very first podcast episode we unpack on-road range – how far can a commercial battery electric vehicle go on a full charge? Lightning Systems CEO Tim Reeser talks with host Nick Bettis about this unexpectedly complex topic.