Phoenix Motorcars
Phoenix Cars LLC, d.b.a. Phoenix Motorcars, is a developer of zero emission, all-electric vehicles based in Anaheim, California, United States, focused on the deployment of light- and medium-duty EVs into the fleet and transit markets. The company was founded in 2002 and became a wholly owned subsidiary of Al Yousuf LLC in 2009 and of EdisonFuture in 2020. Phoenix launched its all-electric 14-22 passenger shuttle bus with 100 mile range per charge in 2013. The bus is based on the versatile Ford E350/450 Series vehicle.
In November 2023, Phoenix acquired the electric transit bus division and associated battery leases of bankrupt bus company Proterra for $10M; Volvo bought the battery business proper.
Restructuring and financing
On March 19, 2008, Phoenix Motorcars announced that it had completed a financing and restructuring, with Dubai, United Arab Emirates-Al Yousuf LLC, and Arlington, Virginia-based AES Corporation, as new investors, the departure of the Phoenix Motorcars’ original founders and the appointment of a new board of directors.In mid-2010, Al Yousuf LLC closed on a deal with AES Corporation that enabled Phoenix Motorcars to become a wholly owned subsidiary of Al Yousuf LLC. This led to another restructuring of Phoenix Motorcars in less than 2 years, with the company switching its focus to its 3rd generation drive system targeted for buses and trucks on the Ford E350/E450 cutaway chassis.
Production
Zero Emission Utility Shuttle – ZEUS
Phoenix launched its third product in 2013, an all-electric 14-22 passenger shuttle bus with 100-mile range per charge.This product achieved California Air Resources Board certification in July, 2014 in the 10,001–14,000 pound GVWR range. Along with its 100-mile range per charge, the ZEUS shuttle is capable of rapid charging via CHAdeMO or SAE standards. As of 2020 they were working with a number of Southern California airports to replace shuttles with their Zeus model.
Phoenix Motor Inc. recently announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued a new U.S. utility patent covering cutting edge low-floor electric bus architecture and integrated battery system design.