Xos, formerly Thor Trucks, displays its ET-One all electric semi-truck during the California Air … [+]
A newly adopted landmark ruling requires more than half of all commercial trucks sold in California to be zero-emissions by 2035. Xos is one of the many startups building electric vehicles that could help companies meet that target.
Xos, formerly Thor Trucking, has developed a skateboard chassis for fully-electric Class 6 trucks. Class 6 trucks are medium-duty commercial trucks with a gross vehicle weight of 19,501 to 26,000 pounds. Its X-Platform is being piloted by UPS and Loomis in some electric step-vans operating in Southern California. It also is developing a Class 8 heavy-duty truck, ET-One, which could be production-ready by the end of this year, according to the Los Angeles Business Journal.
The North Hollywood, Calif.-based startup has recently partnered with automotive supplier Metalsa, and announced a $20 million funding round backed by a group of investors that includes Proeza Ventures, a mobility-focused VC firm backed by the supplier’s holding company. This round, which closed earlier this year but wasn’t announced until this week due to delays caused by the covid-19 pandemic, is the company’s first round of institutional investment. The cash influx will be used to fuel technical operations and scale up production of X-Platform.
“As orders continue to come in on a monthly basis, we are excited to meet the overwhelming demand for both our medium-duty and heavy-duty trucks,” said Xos Trucks cofounder and COO Giordano Sordoni. “This investment is critical to our team’s growth so we can scale to meet that demand.”
Sordoni and Dakota Semler, Xos’ CEO and cofounder, are both still in their 20s and are alums of Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list in the 2020 Manufacturing & Industry category.
Xos joins several legacy automotive manufacturing brands are also developing electric medium-duty trucks, including Daimler, Volvo Trucks, and Freightliner. Rivian, another automotive newcomer, is building Class 4 delivery vehicles for Amazon
