Lightning eMotors Inc. shares surged after the company that electrifies commercial vehicles announced a strategic partnership with a Berkshire Hathaway Inc.-backed bus maker.
Lightning, whose stock started trading in May after a merger with a blank-check company, will build fully electric powertrains and provide charging products and services to Berkshire’s Forest River Inc., according to a statement Tuesday. The companies said they’ll deploy as many as 7,500 shuttle buses.
Lightning shares rose 77 percent to $11.33 in morning trading. The stock had slumped 26 percent since the close on May 7, its first day of trading.
Forest River will use powertrains from Lightning in Class 4 and 5 shuttle buses it plans to manufacture at an existing plant in Goshen, Ind. The companies estimated the potential value of their agreement at $850 million.
