Automaker to Close Zero-Emission Bus Factory, Lay Off 425 Workers in Southern California

A bus awaits passengers in Los Angeles on March 20, 2023. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

A prominent Southern California factory that specializes in making environmentally friendly buses is shutting down.

The Wisconsin-based REV Group, known for manufacturing fire, ambulance, commercial, and recreational vehicles, decided in January to stop manufacturing mass transit vehicles and close a division of its company that makes environmentally friendly buses, called ENC, and its 200,000 square-foot factory in Jurupa Valley, in Riverside County.

As a result, about 425 jobs will be lost after the plant shuts down, the Orange County Register reported.

ENC’s vehicles had become the go-to for many of California’s public transportation systems.

The Los Angeles Metro runs nearly 300 of ENC’s natural gas-fueled vehicles, while the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency has 30 of ENC’s electric-hybrid mini-buses.

A Los Angeles Metro bus transports passengers in downtown Los Angeles on Nov. 8, 2022. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

Of the 6,147 electric buses in use nationwide as of September 2023, California has 1,946—nearly one-third of the national total, according to clean transportation nonprofit CalStart.

However, REV’s CEO Mark Skonieczny cited lack of support for widespread electric vehicle adoption, a slow build-out of EV charging stations, as well as supply delays for manufacturing, for the group’s decision to close the mass transit portion of their business.

“The decision to wind down operations was not made lightly; however, based on the options available to us, we believe this is the best path forward for our business,” Mr. Skonieczny said in a statement.