Edison expects to build 100 trucks in 2026 and 200 trucks in 2027. (Edison Motors)
Every company starts out somewhere, and for startup Class 8 hybrid electric-diesel truck manufacturer Edison Motors, that place was the back garden of founder and CEO Chace Barber’s parents’ home in Merritt, British Columbia.
Now, former logging truck driver Barber and Edison have raised over C$5.9 million ($4.1 million) to build a manufacturing plant and ramp up production of Class 8 trucks that can handle the harsh conditions associated with interior British Columbia.
Barber and chief technology officer and fellow founder Eric Little will still own 70% after the private placement financing is completed, but demand from potential backers is so high, Edison said in a Feb. 25 investor note, that a deadline for purchasing shares was pushed back.
Edison is starting its first small production run in a new 305-acre manufacturing facility in Golden, British Columbia, Barber told Transport Topics on the day the company issued the note.
The company is building 11 trucks, Barber said, and has built two trucks previously. Edison has about 20 employees.
Edison builds its own powertrain, chassis and cab, unlike some other hybrid truck manufacturers that retrofit or re-engineer existing vehicles. (Edison Motors)
Two of the trucks under construction will be used for demonstration purposes. The rest are already allocated to customers. The company’s build time is two weeks at present, said Barber.
“Hopefully, by the summer, we’ll be getting into some higher form of capacity,” Barber said.
Edison expects to build 100 trucks in 2026 and 200 trucks in 2027, he told TT.
“We’re building a shop that should be able to build about 200 to 300 trucks a year,” Barber said.
For comparison, fellow startup Nikola’s aim before seeking bankruptcy protection recently was to produce 300-350 Class 8 trucks in 2024.
The Golden facility has enough floor space to accommodate the simultaneous production of 10 Class 8 vehicles and 10 pickup truck conversions. Edison also retrofits diesel pickups with an electric powertrain.
“Hopefully, by the summer, we’ll be getting into some higher form of capacity,” Barber said. (Edison Motors)
Freight and vocational market segments that have shown interest in Edison’s trucks include logging, the oil and gas industry, mining, construction and government services, Barber said.
Edison builds its own powertrain, chassis and cab, unlike some other hybrid truck manufacturers that retrofit or re-engineer existing vehicles.
The company has patents pending on its hybrid drivetrain design, e-axles, cab and truck designs, hybrid control software and drivetrain control.
Powertrain flexibility alongside lower emissions comes from offering both fully electric and diesel-electric trucks, depending on customer requirements, according to the company.
Remote logging areas where one of Edison’s first customers operates and Barber used to drive are less likely to offer charging infrastructure.
Still, Barber and Little — who started their own trucking company in their fourth year of college after restoring a 1969 Kenworth truck — are confident they are heading down the right road, already valuing the company at C$200 million ($139.5 million).
