Ayro, an engineer and manufacturer of light-duty, urban, and short-haul electric vehicles (EVs), and Karma Automotive’ s Innovation and Customization Center (KICC), have formed a strategic manufacturing, engineering, and design partnership, the companies announced.

This partnership will utilize Karma’s state-of-the-art Innovation and Customization Center, Karma Engineering resources and the Karma Design Studio to provide expertise and contract manufacturing services for the next generation of Ayro’s light-duty vehicles. KICC will also provide strategic engineering and development services for electrified solutions within the fast-growing delivery and micro distribution markets.

By combining Ayro’s end-user, market and engineering expertise with KICC’s manufacturing capabilities, development experience and global supply chain capabilities, the companies aim to be able to deliver over 20,000 light-duty trucks and electric delivery vehicles over the next three years, valued at more than $300 million.

The partnership will initially serve customers in North America, but the supply chain capabilities and resources of the two companies can be leveraged to meet demand across global markets in the future. Dedicated inventory space and assembly lines have been planned for Ayro’s EVs within KICC’s ISO-certified factory in Moreno Valley, Calif. KICC’s vertically integrated development capabilities, including frame/chassis build, fabrication center, body shop, robotic paint shop and powertrain integration, should allow the partnership to rapidly respond to customer and market demands for unique, task-oriented configurations and build-outs.

The partnership is intended to serve a wide range of industries including universities, hospitals, corporate campuses, airports, hotels, municipalities, restaurants, and pharmacies. These industries are looking to quickly adopt efficient and zero-carbon fleets to cut costs and meet sustainability targets. For example, nearly 60% of U.S. city governments already have green vehicle purchasing policies in place, and delivery needs have increased significantly in order to meet consumer demand related to COVID.

A 2018 market report valued the global food delivery market at $53 billion, a projection that has since doubled to more than $104 billion between 2019-2023.