Vicinity Motor intends to become top provider of EV buses for public and commercial enterprises in North America

Formerly known as Grande West Transportation Group Supplies electric, compressed natural gas, gasoline, and clean-diesel buses Started 2021 with a $50 million backlog What Vicinity Motors does:  Vicinity Motor Corp (CVE:VMC) (OTCQX:BUSXF) (FRA:6LG) is a leading supplier of electric, compressed natural gas (CNG), gasoline, and clean-diesel buses for both public and commercial enterprise use in the US and Canada.  The company was formerly known as Grande West Transportation Group Inc and changed its name to Vicinity Motor in March 2021. The company’s line of Vicinity buses, which maintain a dominant market share in Canada (90%), are produced by the company’s world-class manufacturing partners whom the company says can ramp up production to 2,000 units per year. Currently, more than 500 of its buses, which carry an average sales price of $400,000, are in operation. The company has three bus models -- heavy-duty (diesel and CNG), medium-duty (electric vehicle EV), and light-duty (gasoline, diesel, and CNG). A fourth heavy-duty EV bus is currently under development. Its flagship Vicinity Lightning medium-duty EV bus, enabled through a tier-1 strategic supply agreement with BMW batteries and components, seeks to lead the global transition to more sustainable transit vehicles in the private and public markets. The first deliveries are expected in the second half of 2021.  To meet demand, Vicinity is currently developing a Buy America Act-compliant assembly facility and US headquarters in Washington State that will be capable of producing 1,000 units annually across all sizes and power systems.  The company has finalized the design specifications and is wrapping up the permitting for the facility, which is not too far from its Aldergrove, British Columbia location. Operations are expected to commence in 2021. How is it doing:  According to a March 2021 announcement, Vicinity headed into the new year with working capital of nearly $17 million, a sufficient runway to fund its expansion plans for the year and beyond.  The company also kicked off the new year with a $50 million backlog as it anticipates delivering more than 100 buses before the end of the second quarter of 2021.  Vicinity expects to deliver over 50 buses in 1Q, driving quarterly revenues of about $25 million -- a significant jump compared to the 55 and 45 buses delivered in all of 2020 and 2019, respectively.   The company in April struck a new purchase order with a leading Canadian provincial public transportation provider for 15 buses for a total value of more than $6 million. The transit authority has ordered 30-foot buses powered by CNG. Vicinity expects delivery in 1H 2022. The company in addition recently announced a new contract for 17 CNG buses from an unnamed customer in a deal worth more than $5 million. The buses are expected to be delivered in the 4Q 2021.  On top of that supply order, Washington State has selected Vicinity’s buses in a state-wide purchasing contract that gives state transit agencies the right to buy from the company's diverse bus portfolio. The buses will be made at its soon-to-open Washington State facility. Another US state -- New Mexico -- has selected Vicinity buses under a similar statewide purchasing contract for state transit agencies.  Vicinity has also entered into a strategic distribution agreement with ABC Companies, a leading provider of motorcoach and transit equipment in North America, to distribute its heavy-duty buses throughout the US.  And the company recently announced a cooperation deal with Kontrol Energy group to supply coronavirus (COVID-19) detectors as an add-on service for their customers which further enhances the performance of their transport vehicles. Meanwhile, Vicinity is laying the groundwork to uplist to the tech-heavy Nasdaq exchange. It recently appointed a highly respected industry veteran, prominent Canadian transit leader, and former CEO of BC Transit, Manuel Achadinha, as chief operating officer. He is tasked with driving innovation and efficiency to maximize operations and the engineering teams, position the Washington State manufacturing facility to support optimal output and scale, and increase overall productivity in the organization. And in March the company launched a share consolidation on the basis of one new post-consolidation share for every three pre-consolidation shares -- in addition to officially changing its name to Vicinity Motors. Inflection points: Commence operations at Washington State facility in 2021 Uplist to Nasdaq Obtain dealer licensed coverage in every state Transition with EVs to sustainable public transit system deliveries in 2H 2021 What the boss says: "2020 was a year of foundation building, highlighted by the addition of innovative new electric vehicles to our product lineup and the preparations for a successful expansion into the U.S. market," Vicinty CEO William Trainer said in a recent statement. "Despite the countless logistical challenges brought on by the global pandemic, we were able to deliver 55 Vicinity buses in 2020. More importantly, we expect to deliver over 100 buses in the first half of 2021, which is an incredible feat considering we have only just begun our US expansion." He added: "Looking ahead into 2021, we are incredibly well-positioned to create long-term value for our shareholders. We believe that we will realize twice our full-year 2020 sales in the first half of 2021 alone - an incredible feat and a testament to the demand we are seeing in the marketplace today. We look forward to announcing new sales, product and strategic milestone achievements in the months ahead." Contact the author: patrick@proactiveinvestors.com Follow him on Twitter @PatrickMGraham