BMW i Ventures invests in electric bus firm

Electric bus manufacturer Proterra has secured $55 million of funding from various investors including BMW i Ventures.

Proterra secured the investment following a Series 6 round of funding.

The firm will use the money to increase production at its manufacturing facilities in South Carolina and Los Angeles, and to boost R&D efforts at company headquarters in Silicon Valley.

This is BMW i Ventures’ first investment in heavy-duty EV manufacturing.

BMW i Ventures partner, Zach Barasz, said: “BMW i Ventures invests in companies that will transform mobility and transportation, and Proterra is pushing the mass transit industry forward with the most innovative heavy-duty electric bus.

“Due to Proterra’s efforts, electric mass transit is overtaking fossil-fuel buses as the new standard.”