Phoenix Cars LLC, d.b.a. Phoenix Motorcars, is a developer of zero emission, all-electric vehicles (EV) based in Anaheim, California, United States, focused on the deployment of light- and medium-duty EVs into the fleet and transit markets. The company was founded in 2002 and became a wholly owned subsidiary of Al Yousuf LLC in 2009 and of EdisonFuture in 2020. Phoenix launched its all-electric 14-22 passenger shuttle bus with 100 mile range per charge in 2013. The bus is based on the versatile Ford E350/450 Series vehicle.
In November 2023, Phoenix acquired the electric transit bus division (see Proterra ZX5) and associated battery leases of bankrupt bus company Proterra for $10M; Volvo bought the battery business proper.
On March 19, 2008, Phoenix Motorcars announced that it had completed a financing and restructuring, with Dubai, United Arab Emirates-Al Yousuf LLC, and Arlington, Virginia-based AES Corporation, as new investors, the departure of the Phoenix Motorcarsâ original founders and the appointment of a new board of directors.
In mid-2010, Al Yousuf LLC closed on a deal with AES Corporation that enabled Phoenix Motorcars to become a wholly owned subsidiary of Al Yousuf LLC. This led to another restructuring of Phoenix Motorcars in less than 2 years, with the company switching its focus to its 3rd generation drive system targeted for buses and trucks on the Ford E350/E450 cutaway chassis.
Phoenix launched its third product in 2013, an all-electric 14-22 passenger shuttle bus with 100-mile range per charge.
This product achieved California Air Resources Board (CARB) certification in July, 2014 in the 10,001âÂÂ14,000 pound GVWR range. Along with its 100-mile range per charge, the ZEUS shuttle is capable of rapid charging via CHAdeMO or SAE standards. As of 2020 they were working with a number of Southern California airports to replace shuttles with their Zeus model.
Phoenix Motor Inc. recently announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued a new U.S. utility patent covering cutting edge low-floor electric bus architecture and integrated battery system design.
Phoenix launched its electric Flatbed in 2015, which is also based on the Ford E350/450 Series, with 100 mile range per charge.
The ZX5 battery electric bus is built at the former Proterra plant in Greenville, South Carolina. Then, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued a recall on September 5, 2024 for ZX5's produced from 2019-2022 on reports of smoke, software, and electrical related issues.