Now that battery-powered buses are becoming more cost-effective and able to handle almost any urban routes, manufacturers are looking to expand their production to satisfy the demand from transit agencies turning to electric when updating their fleet.

Proterra, a manufacturer of large all-electric buses in the US, has been talking a lot about production expansion lately after sales being up 220% since last year. The company hired Tesla’s former Vice President of Manufacturing to lead the expansion at their facility in Greenville, South Carolina, and their new factory in Los Angeles County.

Last week, the company confirmed having secured an impressive $140 million investment to finance this important expansion of their production capacity. expand full story

While companies like BYD and Proterra are ramping up production of their all-electric buses and delivering them to transit services around the world, the city of Montreal decided to start its fleet of zero-emission vehicles for public transit using a new electric bus developed in Canada and in partnership with the Quebec government.

The deployment was delayed by a few years, but now the city’s public transit agency has received delivery of the new electric buses and will put them to the test early next year. expand full story

A deal between the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District (SJVAPCD) was announced today to award funding for the purchase of “15 Proterra Catalyst buses, 11 Proterra depot-chargers, and 4 Proterra fast-chargers”. expand full story

Over two years ago, Tesla open-sourced all its patents for electric vehicles – a surprising announcement in our IP-centric business climate. CEO Elon Musk explained the move as being in line with Tesla’s mission to accelerate the advent of sustainable transport:

“If we’re all in a ship together and the ship has some holes in it, and we’re sort of bailing water out of it, and we have a great design for a bucket, then even if we’re bailing out way better than everyone else, we should probably still share the bucket design.”

We might get access to yet another bucket design thanks to Proterra, a leading manufacturer of all-electric buses. The bus maker announced today that it will be opening its proprietary “on-route fast-charging technology” on a royalty-free basis. expand full story

Proterra, a leading manufacturer of all-electric buses, unveiled this week a new battery pack to power its Catalyst XR bus pictured above. The new pack holds 28 percent more energy which adds up to an impressive 330 kWh of energy capacity.

As of March 2016, Proterra had 63 buses on the roads across 10 states. Now the company says that all current Catalyst XR customers will receive a complimentary upgrade with the new battery pack. expand full story

Transport for London (TfL) and electric vehicle manufacturer BYD announced last week that the city of London is putting in service its firsts long-range all-electric double-decker buses – picture above.

The first 5 BYD all-electric buses will operate on Route 98 on behalf of TfL by Metroline. expand full story

The China-based electric car and bus manufacturer BYD (Build Your Dreams) announced the delivery of the world’s largest electric bus fleet to the city of Shenzhen in China. expand full story

The city of Sion in Switzerland approved a pilot project with two all-electric and fully autonomous buses which will hit the road as soon as spring 2016. The project could become the first fully autonomous public transportation system in operation.

The buses are being introduced in collaboration with the city of Sion, France-based electric bus manufacturer Navya and self-driving software firm BestMile. expand full story