Phoenix Motorcars LLC was honored by the National Parking Association (NPA) with the 2017 Innovative Sustainability Project of the Year Award. Phoenix Motorcars was selected for the work done in partnership with the L & R Group of companies to bring the first fully zero-emission electric shuttle fleet in the nation to Southern California at the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). The award was presented at the annual NPA Convention & Expo, held in Palm Springs, Calif., Oct. 2-5, 2017.

“We express our sincere gratitude to the NPA for this award. We are excited to continue working with LNR and our other partners in supplying commercial fleets with proven electric vehicles that provide substantial operational and emission savings.” said Emad Fakhoury, CEO of Phoenix Motorcars.

Phoenix Motorcars collaborated with L & R Group of Companies to replace gas-powered shuttle buses at LAX with Phoenix's Zero Emission Utility Shuttles (ZEUS) buses. L&R subsidiary, Wally Park Premier, deployed 16 ZEUS buses at LAX, making it the first all-electric fleet of airport-parking shuttle buses in the U.S. By deploying a total of 33 ZEUS buses, L&R will be able to convert 4.2 million gas miles to all-electric miles over a five-year period and reduce tailpipe emissions significantly.

Through government incentives of as much as $100,000 per shuttle bus, the cost of switching to an all-electric fleet was kept to a minimum. The result is more than $3.6 million in total cost-of-ownership savings over an equivalent CNG fleet, due to lower fuel and maintenance costs.

"The NPA Innovation Awards recognize companies and individuals who demonstrate the highest professionalism and parking best practices while using leadership and state-of-the-art technology to improve safety, sustainability and bottom line results," said NPA President Christine Banning, MA, CAE.