GreenPower Motor Company announced Wednesday the appointment of Leonard Bus Sales as a dealer for GreenPower's BEAST Type D and Nano BEAST Type A all-electric school buses for the state of New York.
Leonard has five locations and will have an exclusive appointment for the state of New York except for eight counties representing the New York City area, which will be non-exclusive. Leonard has initially agreed to purchase two BEAST and two Nano BEAST school buses from GreenPower for customers and demonstrations, the company says.
"We are excited to be working with Leonard who is a proven school bus dealer in the state of New York, which has approximately 50,000 school buses in operations," says Michael Perez, vice president School Bus, Contracts and Grants, GreenPower.
As part of the current budget, the state of New York will require that all school buses be 100 percent electric by 2035, and further requires that all new school buses purchased starting in 2027 must be 100 percent electric. The budget also requires the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) to provide technical assistance to school districts as they navigate the transition to 100 percent electric buses.
"This new law makes New York the first state in the country to commit to fully electrifying its school bus fleet and to establish, as a priority, protecting kids' health," Perez says. "The GreenPower dealer agreement with Leonard positions the BEAST and Nano BEAST as the purpose-built, all-electric, zero-emissions school buses that will meet the goals set by the Governor and Legislature."
Senator Timothy Kennedy, chair of the New York Senate Transportation Committee, says "Increasing our usage of zero emission school buses is a key component of reducing New York State's carbon footprint and fulfilling the goals of the Climate Leadership & Community Protection Act, which is why I was proud to push to include language in this year's state budget that commits to fully electrifying our school bus fleets by 2035. Congratulations to GreenPower Motor Company and Leonard Bus Sales on this exciting partnership that will provide more electric zero-emission school bus options for our state's school districts and transportation providers."
GreenPower says its BEAST is a 40-ft., Type D school bus seating up to 90 passengers and the Nano BEAST is a 25-ft., Type A school bus, which is available with standard seating or with ADA. Both the BEAST and Nano BEAST have a class-leading range of up to 150 miles with a monocoque chassis design and are built from the ground up to be battery-electric. The vehicles can charge up to 20 KW on a standard J1772 protocol or DC fast charge, the company says.
