BURLINGAME, Calif. — Electric bus and truck maker Proterra says it is seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection from a federal court in Delaware.
The Burlingame, California, company is a big supplier of buses to transit systems across the nation. A statement on Proterra’s website said that it intends to maintain normal operations and will file motions with the court to use existing capital to keep funding operations, including paying employees, vendors and suppliers.
The company made the four electric buses that Maine purchased and deployed in the greater Portland area in 2022. The electric transit vehicles are part of the city’s “One Climate Future” project, which seeks to reduce the city’s carbon emissions by 80 percent by 2050.
The buses run on the Greater Portland METRO and Biddeford Saco Old Orchard Beach Transit lines.
President Joe Biden visited the company’s factory in South Carolina in 2021 to highlight U.S. electric vehicle makers.
The company said in the statement that it’s taking action to separate its business units “to maximize their independent potential.” It sells heavy truck, van, bus and off-highway equipment equipment in the U.S., European and Asia-Pacific markets.
“While our best-in-class EV and battery technologies have set an industry standard, we have faced various market and macroeconomic headwinds, that have impacted our ability to efficiently scale all of our opportunities simultaneously,” CEO Gareth Joyce said in the statement. “As commercial vehicles accelerate towards electrification, we look forward to sharpening our focus as a leading EV battery technology supplier for the benefit of our many stakeholders.”
Shares in Proterra Inc. closed on Aug. 8 down more than 88 percent at 17 cents.
BDN writer Leela Stockley contributed to this report.
