Electric Last Mile, Inc. (ELMS), a commercial electric vehicle (“EV”) company focused on last mile delivery solutions, announced March 16 it has received more than 45,000 non-binding pre-orders for its Urban Delivery class 1 commercial EV.

The company also said it intends to begin production of the Urban Delivery van at the Mishawaka, Indiana manufacturing facility by the end of the third quarter of 2021, which would make the Urban Delivery the first class 1 commercial EV officially available in the U.S. market.

As part of its customer process, ELMS will continue working with pre-order customers to finalize specific duty-cycle requirements and allocation schedules as it seeks to obtain binding purchase orders and as it prepares for the anticipated start of production later this year. The company recently announced its plan to acquire the Indiana manufacturing facility as part of its pending merger with Forum Merger III Corporation (Nasdaq: FIII). Upon closing of the merger transaction, the combined company will be named Electric Last Mile Solutions, Inc. and the common stock of Electric Last Mile Solutions, Inc. is expected to be listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the new ticker symbol, “ELMS.”

“The interest we have seen for the Urban Delivery has been overwhelming as fleet managers continue to seek solutions that will reduce their total cost of ownership and help them to achieve aggressive sustainability targets,” said ELMS Co-Founder and CEO, James Taylor. “Our more than 45,000 pre-orders reflect the demand for fleet electrification and our value proposition of low-cost, reliable, connected and customized solutions.”

The Urban Delivery is anticipated to have about 150 miles of range, best-in-class cargo volume and a price of $25,000 after federal rebate, giving it a lower expected total cost of ownership compared to existing gas competitors. ELMS also expects to equip the Urban Delivery with a data and connectivity suite to maximize fleet efficiency and plans to customize vehicles through its integrated upfitting operations and partnerships.