Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Commercial Fleet Hybrid-Electric Powertrain Company, XL Hybrids, Secures $4 Million In Series B Investment

XL Hybrids, a Fleet Hybrid Conversion company, announced today that they secured $4 million in a Series B investment to fund the growth of their hybrid electric powertrain business. XL Hybrids designed an add-on hybrid-electric solution for commercial fleets to improve their fuel efficiency by 20% or more, without making major modifications to existing OEM vehicles in commercial service. Their add-on solution, seen in the image below, captures and stores energy through regenerative braking.
 
 The XL Hybrids system is designed to work on the most popular Class 1-3 fleet vehicles, including cargo/utility/shuttle vans and pickup trucks. The hybrid drive train is installed either as a retrofit to an existing vehicle, or installed as an upfit onto a new vehicle before delivery. The system is installed through a nationwide network of certified installation partners.

The system consists of a 40 kW Peak Power Permanent Magnet Electric Motor coupled with a 2 kWh Lithium-Ion Battery and Control System, delivering 220 lb-ft of peak torque.

From the company:
PRESS RELEASE

XL Hybrids Secures $4 Million In Series B Investment Financing
Will Support Product Growth Throughout North America
 BOSTON, March 13, 2013 – XL Hybrids, Inc., provider of a low-cost hybrid electric powertrain designed for class 1 to 3 commercial fleet vehicles, today announced that it has raised $4 million in a series B investment round led by private investors, with previous investors also participating in the round. After developing its hybrid powertrain technology and validating it in the field with multiple Fortune 500 companies, XL Hybrids will use this funding to ramp up the delivery of its hybrid electric powertrain to existing and new customers.

Investors in this round include successful entrepreneurs and leading business executives from multiple industries, including automotive, energy, software and finance. While massive government loans and other sources of funding dry up for many cleantech companies, XL Hybrids has proven its ability to deliver fuel savings with a cost-effective technology, sell to large Fortune 500 companies and implement a capital-efficient business model. XL Hybrids’ hybrid electric powertrain reduces fuel consumption by 20 percent and can be installed in both new and existing vehicles. This type of system is ideal for companies operating commercial vans, box-trucks and shuttles in and around major urban markets.

“This round of investment enables us to start scaling our business and expanding our geographic reach. We are working with customers that have large national and international fleets, and we can now help them save fuel and money at a larger scale,” said Tod Hynes, president and founder of XL Hybrids. “With support from our investors, XL Hybrids will continue to expand the availability of our hybrid powertrain and meet the demands of commercial fleets looking for a proven return on investment and reduced emissions.”

This latest investment round brings the total amount of funding for XL Hybrids to approximately $8 million. Earlier this quarter, XL Hybrids expanded its product line to offer hybrid powertrain technology for Ford E-Series vans; the company can now offer a compelling return on investment and significant emissions reductions to more than 75 percent of light duty van fleet buyers. XL Hybrids also signed an installation partnership and distribution agreement with Leggett & Platt Commercial Vehicle Products (CVP), providing its customers with ship-through ordering.

 For more information on XL Hybrids technology and availability, visit www.xlhybrids.comor email info [at] xlhybrids.com.

 About XL Hybrids
 XL Hybrids designs, manufactures and installs hybrid electric powertrains for commercial vans and trucks. The company’s patent-pending hybrid electric powertrain can be installed on existing vehicles or as an upfit on new ones. By storing energy wasted in braking and reapplying it during acceleration, XL Hybrids technology decreases fuel use and carbon dioxide emissions by up to 21.2 percent on urban routes, while operating with the same durability and reliability as traditional vans and trucks. XL Hybrids was founded by MIT alumni and is based in Boston. For more information, visit www.xlhybrids.com.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

it is news like this that really gets me excited for the future of fleet trucks. They are such a valuable part of our world and having them be more efficient and gentler on the earth is a huge step forward