The Electric: Investors Remain Interested in Commercial EVs

Amid increasing Wall Street skepticism toward the makers of passenger electric vehicles, investors are still funding companies making commercial EVs. Among them, California-based Harbinger Motors last week delivered the first of its stripped-down electric chassis to recreational vehicle manufacturer Thor Industries, which will design and install an RV body for it.

Harbinger makes an extremely specialized product—the underbody for medium-duty electric vehicles like delivery vans, to which customers then add a body. CEO John Harris said Ford dominates the medium-duty commercial chassis segment but has been cutting back production of its gasoline-powered underbodies. “We match our production volumes to market demand,” a Ford spokesperson said via email.