Shyft Group plans $16M expansion to produce EV delivery vans

Specialty manufacturer will have capacity to produce 3,000 Blue Arc vehicles per year in Charlotte facilities

JOE BOOMGAARD | MIBIZ

CHARLOTTE — Specialty vehicle manufacturer e Shyft Group Inc. plans to invest $16 million to expand its engineering and manufacturing capabilities in Charlotte to produce the company’s Blue Arc EV Solutions brand of electric commercial vehicles.

e investment will enable Novibased Shyft (Nasdaq: SHYF) to start production on the all-electric Class 3, 4 and 5 vehicles by mid 2023 at its legacy manufacturing facilities in Charlotte, about 20 miles southwest of Lansing.

e specialty vehicle manufacturer will have the capacity to manufacture 3,000 EVs per year in Charlotte, where it currently produces several Shyft product lines, such as conventionally powered delivery vans and chassis used in motorhomes and work trucks.

Company executives expect the expansion to pave the way for new engineering, manufacturing and technical jobs at the site.

In an application for an industrial facilities tax exemption from the city of Charlotte, the company projected it would hire 200 new employees as part of the expansion project, which includes renovations to Plant 4 and Plant 7, according to a presentation in December.

A Shyft spokesperson said the company currently employs about 900 people in Charlotte, up from about 300 a couple of years ago. e company employs a total of 1,225 people statewide.

“We’re extremely proud to invest in EV production here in our home state of Michigan where our company has been headquartered for nearly 50 years,” Shyft Group President and CEO Daryl Adams said in a statement. “We are thankful to be part of the Charlotte community and look forward to bringing the future of eets to our operations there.”

Shyft Group was formerly known as Spartan Motors Inc. and headquartered in Charlotte until 2020, when it sold o its emergency re- sponse vehicle line, changed its name and relocated administrative operations to Novi in a move to attract talent from Southeast Michigan. e investment comes nearly ve months after Shyft received the rst 2,000-unit preorder for Blue Arc’s line of walk-in delivery vans, which will be available in body lengths from 12 feet to 22 feet and feature 150 miles of range. e company is marketing Blue Arc to last-mile delivery eets. With the expansion, the company is leveraging assistance and incentives from the city of Charlotte, Lansing Economic Area Partnership, and the Michigan Economic Develop-