BOSTON - XL Hybrids, Inc., a company that provides hybrid vehicle technology for commercial fleets, announced Richard Canny has joined its board of directors. Canny is president of Electric Transport Advisors and was formerly the director of global strategic planning at Ford Motor Company and CEO of electric vehicle producer THINK Global. He will increase XL Hybrids' connections within the automotive industry and help prepare the company for rapid growth.

Canny joins XL Hybrids with 28 years of automotive experience, 25 of which were with Ford, where he held other senior operating leadership positions including president and CEO of Ford South America. He has experience managing 9,900 employees and seven manufacturing plants, as well as developing the Fiesta sedan 18 months ahead of schedule.

While at THINK Global, Canny raised $92 million during challenging economic times and grew the company's revenue from zero to $60 million. He also restructured the company's operations and led strategic alliances with automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and smart grid consortia. Hailing from South Australia, Canny graduated from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology with a Master of Business Administration (MBA).

"While there are various electric drive solutions available or coming to market in the near future, fleet operators have few choices in the hybrid or electric vehicle segments," said Canny. "XL Hybrids has a unique and proprietary technology system that offers a hybrid drive solution to fleets at a fraction of the installed cost of other systems -- and achieves a payback within three to four years. The company is well placed to grow quickly and I am happy to be joining the team."

XL Hybrids' President Tod Hynes said, "Richard's high-level OEM experience combined with his real-world knowledge of the alternative vehicle industry provides tremendous value to XL Hybrids. Few people have experience leading the introduction of an alternative vehicle into the market, and we are glad to have Richard on our team. He recognizes the significant opportunity XL Hybrids has with its proprietary technology, which has been designed specifically for commercial fleet applications."

Canny joins other board members, including Bill Aulet, managing director, MIT Entrepreneurship Center and Tod Hynes, president and founder, XL Hybrids. XL Hybrids also has a technical advisory board that includes Dr. Edward Lovelace, chief technology officer and executive vice president of engineering, Free Flow Power Corp. and Ed Tekeian, former vice president of engineering for three Boston technology startups.

For more information about XL Hybrids, visit https://xlfleet.com/​.