Electric Last Mile Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: ELMS; ELMSW), a manufacturer of electric last-mile delivery vans and trucks, announced Dec. 1 a firm purchase order from Zeeba, a Los Angeles-based mobility company, to buy 50 ELMS Urban Delivery vans with intent to acquire hundreds more in 2022, according to a news release.

Zeeba’s fleet consists of several thousand vans with plans to add 2,500 all-electric vans by the end of 2023 – about one-third of its two-year growth plan. Zeeba has turned its focus to two areas: commercial business-to-business rentals and leasing and a San Francisco van sharing pilot program. The San Francisco program is a key vertical for which Zeeba’s customers will use the ELMS Urban Delivery, and it is set to launch in 1Q 2022.

“Zeeba selected the Urban Delivery to propel its nationwide electrification and growth strategy,” said Ron Feldeisen, the chief revenue officer of ELMS, in the release. “Commercial van rentals are a growing business vertical in the last mile delivery space and rental customers are vying for all-electric mobility options.”

Zeeba chose the Urban Delivery as the first commercial EV in its fleet due to its connected car versatility and lower total cost of ownership, which supports Zeeba’s transition to an all-electric fleet. Zeeba plans to leverage the ELMS Air telematics system, which provides fleet management and deep data analytics tools for customers, to run its van-sharing platform which will begin deployment in San Francisco.

“In 2021 we grew our business over 100% compared to 2020,” said Zeeba CRO Mike Paletz. “Our initial projections for 2022 have us increasing our business three times over 2021 — our best year to date. Our partnership with ELMS will be instrumental in allowing us to achieve these goals.” 

ELMS’ first vehicle, the Urban Delivery, is the first Class 1 commercial electric vehicle in the U.S. market. The company will begin production of its second vehicle, the Class 3 Urban Utility EV, in the second half of 2022. ELMS is headquartered in Troy, Michigan. Information:www.electriclastmile.com.