Motiv Power Systems New President & Talks Growth

Medium-duty electric truck and bus provider Motiv Power Systems announced the recent appointment of Lisa McClung as president and chief commercial officer. McClung is the former CEO of Lismore Advisors and has 25 years of experience in senior executive roles building and executing successful growth strategies across a wide range of industries – including public, private, and private equity-held companies with established brands such as the Wrigley Company and General Electric.

“Lisa's a dynamo who brings a wealth of proven expertise to Motiv’s customer and competitive market strategy,” said Tim Krauskopf, CEO of Motiv Power Systems in the statement. “Prior to joining, she was a valued growth and marketing advisor to Motiv’s board and has hit the ground running – driving increased sales and re-shaping Motiv’s go-to-market strategy around solving critical customer needs. Lisa brings a strong track record of translating customer engagement – from fleet to C-suite – into differentiated products and services that speed the transfer of Motiv’s EV expertise to our customers and help them build effective, scalable operations to achieve their ESG goals."

“Effective, sustainable growth is about delivering solutions that solve real customer needs in a differentiated way,” said McClung. “Motiv is focused not just on electrifying fleets but on delivering products and services that help our customers use their EV transformation to open multiple new business opportunities and address a wide range of challenges more effectively.” 

Motiv also announced in the statement the company has secured about 100 new orders through California’s HVIP program – with customers including Cintas, FedEx, Aramark, Alsco, City Fresh, and Great White Packaging. The company’s new orders span a range of sectors suited for electric trucks and buses – including parcel delivery step vans, retail goods vehicles, municipal work trucks, and multiple trolleys, shuttles, and school buses.

Launched in 2009 by the California Air Resources Board, the HVIP program accelerates commercialization by making clean vehicles more affordable for fleets through point-of-purchase price reductions. Companies with California fleets are facing a 2031 deadline to implement EV solutions to replace fossil-fueled engines.

“Innovative companies worldwide are looking to an all-electric future and need collaborators like Motiv with our proven track record of delivering successful EV vehicles, as well as broader fleet rollouts,” added Krauskopf. “That’s sooner than you think when it comes to testing, piloting, and deploying EV fleets. This recent surge in customer response is an endorsement of Motiv’s track record of getting it right the first time – and every time after that."

Motiv’s HVIP results are among several key indicators of the market traction the company is seeing ahead of the upcoming ACT Expo – where Motiv will showcase new technologies and its collaboration with customers, including Cintas and Canada Post. 

Motiv's EV truck battery can last about 150-miles on a single charge – a milestone achieved in recent field testing with an EV truck hauling a three-ton payload. This new modular technology will be launched in early 2023 in partnership with the Michigan-based developer of innovative energy storage technology, Our Next Energy (ONE). 

Motiv’s 6th generation platform will also include a new motor co-designed with the electric motor manufacturer, Nidec Motor Corporation, as part of Motiv’s suite of technologies. Motiv’s new Nidec motor achieves peak torque levels equal to widely used diesel Class 8 semi-tractors.