Grande West Transportation Group Inc. (Grande West) announced the receipt of a new order for 17 Vicinity compressed natural gas (CNG) buses, totaling more than $5 million. The buses are expected to be delivered in Q4 2021.

“As cities across North America transition their public transportation fleets to vehicles fueled by clean energy alternatives like electric and CNG, we expect to see additional strong demand for our CNG Vicinity bus line,” said William Trainer, founder/CEO of Grande West. “Government regulations are mandating a reduction in nitrogen oxide and greenhouse gas emissions — a natural tailwind for our CNG product line given compressed natural gas is the cleanest burning transportation fuel on the market today.”

Earlier this month, Grande West announced that it is changing its name to Vicinity Motor Corp. to reflect the company's increasing focus on the commercialization of its next-generation electric buses. In November 2020, the company unveiled its first electric bus model — the Vicinity Lightning EV — which is currently available in the U.S. and Canada.