FedEx Fuels Harbinger’s $160M Raise While Einride Goes Public in New Wave of Electric Trucking Bets

Money is flowing into much electrical trucking companies arsenic the manufacture inactive grapples with a years-long slump successful freight request and dilatory electrical conveyance (EV) adoption.

FedEx is co-leading a $160 cardinal backing circular into medium-duty electrical and hybrid conveyance shaper Harbinger, placing an archetypal bid for 53 of its EVs.

More from Sourcing Journal

• DHL Profits Rise Despite 32% US-Bound Air Freight Volume Drop

• Appeals Court Reinstates Yellow's $137 Million Lawsuit Against Teamsters Over 2023 Bankruptcy

• FAA Grounds All MD-11 Planes After Fatal UPS Crash

At the aforesaid time, Swedish-based autonomous trucking exertion institution Einride is preparing to spell nationalist via a SPAC astatine a valuation of $1.8 billion, pursuing successful the footsteps of autonomous trucking institution Kodiak AI conscionable 2 months ago.

For FedEx, the concern reflects the shipping giant’s ongoing web translation and resulting request for larger-capacity pickup and transportation vehicles arsenic it continues to optimize its web and routes.

“Any conveyance that holds up to our rigorous on-road investigating and offers state-of-the-art information features with little full outgo of ownership is win-win for drivers and for our business,” said Paul Melander, elder vice president of information and proscription astatine FedEx successful a statement. “As we enactment toward a extremity to electrify the full FedEx pickup and transportation fleet by 2040, this trifecta of performance, terms and operational resilience is what we request to beryllium capable to proceed to scale.”

Harbinger designs and manufactures stripped chassis, which dwell of a vehicle’s instauration and large systems without the outer shell, astatine its office and accumulation works successful Garden Grove successful Orange County, Calif. These chassis are past sent to different transportation motortruck manufacturers to implicit the physique of the truck.

Since it started manufacturing successful January, Harbinger has made astir 400 vehicles. The institution expects to nutrient astir 3,000 vehicles adjacent year.

The accumulation is escalating adjacent arsenic the freight marketplace has been contracting, with much trucking capableness exiting the manufacture successful 2025. Sales of medium-duty trucks were down astir 10 percent done September of this twelvemonth compared with the aforesaid play past year, according to information from probe firms FTR Transportation Intelligence and Omdia.

In particular, the commercialized electrical motortruck abstraction hasn’t been fruitful. Just past month, General Motors ended accumulation of its BrightDrop electrical vans aft 4 years. FedEx was a customer. And portion Rivian has supplied astir 25,000 electrical vans to Amazon, the institution has yet to find different large customer.