Phoenix Motorcars announced that the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD)/Phoenix proposal has been awarded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) 2017 Targeted Airshed Grant.

Phoenix will utilize the $3.18 million grant from the EPA to replace 29 diesel and gas-fueled shuttle buses at the four major airports in Southern California (LAX, Ontario, JWA, and Hollywood Burbank) with zero-emission battery-electric shuttles manufactured locally by Phoenix Motorcars.

Combined with California’s Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project, the vehicles will be provided free of cost to the fleet operators. The operators will also receive additional funding to cover part of their charging infrastructure costs.

The grant provides organizations operating regular shuttle services to the airports — including parking companies, car rental facilities, hotels, and other airport fleets — the opportunity to switch to Phoenix’s Zero Emission Utility Shuttle (ZEUS) while benefiting from the lower cost of operations as compared to their existing gasoline or diesel shuttle buses.

“This win is a testament to the best-in-class products Phoenix Motorcars produces and further cements our position as a market leader in the electric shuttle bus segment. We are the leading supplier of medium-duty, all-electric shuttle buses in the U.S. and we look forward to supporting more fleet operators in switching to zero emission transportation while also reducing their cost of operations” said Emad Fakhoury, CEO of Phoenix Motorcars. “We greatly appreciate the efforts of the EPA and SCAQMD in supporting the adoption of zero-emission medium duty electric vehicles.”

Airport shuttle buses often run 24/7 operations and ZEUS by Phoenix Motorcars is well suited to meet the requirements of this high intensity application. The ZEUS shuttle bus can run up to 110 miles on a single charge and comes with both Level II and Level III fast charging capabilities.