Bankrupt Proterra delays auctions of electrification businesses

Bankrupt electric bus, battery and infrastructure developer Proterra Inc. has delayed the auction dates for its business units as interested bidders seek more time to explore what they would get.

Meanwhile, the company is continuing to make and deliver battery packs to customers, a spokesperson said.

Proterra has received interest from potential bidders for its three businesses — transit buses, battery packs and infrastructure equipment, the spokesperson said. Proterra filed for Chapter 11 reorganization on Aug. 7.

“We received multiple non-binding bids for each of our product lines at the Indication of Interest deadline on Sept. 26,” the spokesperson said. “Since that time, we’ve been working through the next stage of the due diligence and multiple interested parties have indicated that they would benefit from additional time to go deeper on our product lines, operations, and market potential.”

Such delays are common in bankruptcy reorganizations. 

The new bid deadline for Proterra Transit is Oct. 26, with an auction scheduled for Nov. 13 if necessary. Proterra Energy’s new bid deadline is Nov. 6, with an auction on Nov. 9 if needed.

Burlingame, California-based Proterra filed a notice of going concern in March as part of its 2022 10-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Such a filing calls into question whether a company would be in business a year from the filing.

Volta Trucks points finger at Proterra in its own bankruptcy filing

Meanwhile, Sweden-based startup Volta Trucks pointed the finger at Proterra for its bankruptcy filing on Tuesday.

Volta said uncertainty over its battery supplier had cut the number of trucks it was able to produce and made it hard to raise sufficient capital.

“Proterra has been and will continue to operate in the ordinary course through the Chapter 11 process,” the spokesperson said without specifically mentioning Volta Trucks.

Another customer counting on Proterra is Nikola Corp., which uses Proterra packs in its Tre fuel cell electric vehicles. Nikola launched regular production of the TRE FCEV in September with customer deliveries starting this quarter.

The FCEV is Nikola’s only current product. It has suspended production of TRE battery electric vehicles (BEVs) amid a safety recall. Nikola will replace the battery packs in 209 Tre BEVs recalled in August. The defective batteries were made by Romeo Power Inc., a since-liquidated Nikola subsidiary.

Related articles:

Who wants a piece or two of Proterra?

EV battery maker Proterra files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection

Former Daimler Truck CEO becomes chairman of Proterra

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