XL Fleet Corp. (NYSE: XL) (“XL Fleet” or the “Company”), a leader in vehicle electrification solutions for commercial and municipal fleets, today responded to a March 3, 2021 report targeting XL Fleet, written by a short-seller with a disclosed economic incentive to negatively influence the Company’s stock price.
Upon further thorough review, XL Fleet reiterates that the report contains numerous factual inaccuracies, misleading statements, and flawed conclusions. The report should not be relied upon by existing or potential investors seeking to make an informed investment decision.
“XL Fleet has a long track record of success in the fleet electrification space, a proven business model with best-in-class technology, and a customer-centric approach,” said Dimitri Kazarinoff, CEO of XL Fleet. “We stand by the validity of our technology, the benefits it delivers to our customers, and the opportunity to further extend our leadership position in an attractive market. I am incredibly proud of what our team continues to achieve, and we remain focused on executing our strategy.”
XL Fleet system effectiveness and technology is validated by independent testing facilities following EPA standards to save fuel and maintenance costs, leading to customer re-orders that account for a majority of XL Fleet revenues since inception.
XL Fleet is a fleet electrification leader that is delivering innovative technology, proven customer value, growing revenues and positive gross margins, with significant opportunity for continued growth.
XL Fleet’s experienced technical and program management teams are developing a full suite of electrified powertrain systems and related energy storage systems for fleet applications.
XL Fleet’s executive leadership team is execution-oriented with an unwavering commitment to the highest levels of integrity, accuracy, and performance throughout its business and reporting practices.
“XL Fleet management, engineers and team members have spent over a decade building a strong business and technological leadership that enables our customers to achieve their environmental sustainability goals,” said Tod Hynes, Founder and President of XL Fleet. “We have a proven and successful track record with over 4,000 systems on the road that have driven more than 145 million customer miles. XL Fleet is well positioned to continue delivering value for customers and shareholders as we expand into new products, services, markets and geographies in the years ahead.”
Key Topic | Short-Seller Claim | XL Fleet Response | Source Reference | |||
ROI Calculation | In its ROI calculation, short-seller presents a deeply flawed analysis showing negative ROI of 53.1%. | In fact, the Total Cost of Ownership analysis included in XL Fleet’s investor presentation is accurate and based on fact-based inputs and assumptions. The Company reiterates its ROI conclusions for the representative fleet of 55.7%. | ||||
Fuel Savings | In its ROI calculation, short-seller wrongly assumes fuel cost of $2.50/gallon. | In fact, the average fuel price in XL Fleet customers’ markets is approximately $3.00/gallon. Approximately 25% of XL Fleet units are in Canada, where the average price for fuel is approximately $3.70/gallon. Approximately 10% of XL Fleet units are in California, where the average price for fuel is approximately $3.56/gallon. The current average price for fuel in the U.S. is approximately $2.71/gallon. The $3.00/gallon figure utilized by XL Fleet’s analysis is accurate. |
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Vehicle Life | In its ROI calculation, short-seller wrongly assumes a service life of 5.25 years. | In fact, the short-seller’s service life assumption of 5.25 years, combined with its yearly mileage assumption of 23,520 miles, would imply a total service life of less than 125,000 miles. Commercial van expected life is 250,000+ miles. Of the 4,000 XL Fleet systems on the road, approximately 335 customer vehicles have driven over 125,000 miles, and more than 22 customer vehicles have logged over 250,000 miles. A majority of XL Fleet vehicles on the road are not yet halfway through their useful life. The 10-year service life utilized by XL Fleet’s analysis is accurate, and conservative based on industry norms and customer feedback. |
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Maintenance Savings | In its ROI calculation, short-seller wrongly assumes total maintenance savings of $20,000, or just $200 per vehicle. | In fact, it is widely understood that a hybrid system captures energy normally dissipated in break heat causing wear. Instead, this energy is stored in the battery for use to later help accelerate the vehicle in a process called regenerative braking. This helps add significantly to the vehicle’s brake life. XL Fleet’s analysis assumes normal brake pad and rotor replacement every 40,000 miles, which carries a parts and labor cost of $650 in each instance. For reference, the Green America report referenced herein states that a hybrid car’s brake pads “last three times as long as those in a conventional car, reducing the frequency of break pad replacement.” | ||||
Fuel Economy | In its report, short-seller wrongly states that XL Fleet’s claims of 25%+ MPG gains are incorrect and misleading. | In fact, XL Fleet’s fuel economy performance has been validated by independent sources including Automotive Testing and Development Services, Inc. and ESW America, Inc. Additionally, short-seller does not properly account for the significant impact of other variables. With any motor vehicle, actual customer MPG performance heavily depends on a range of factors related to how the vehicle is used. This is especially true in the commercial fleet market, where traffic patterns, payload, drive cycles, amount of idling time, and weather have significant impact on actual performance. |
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Driver Cost | In its ROI calculation, short-seller wrongly assumes driver cost of $18.52/hour. | In fact, XL Fleet’s analysis is based on fully-loaded cost of labor of $50/hour. This figure reflects the blended nature of XL Fleet’s customer drivers, which includes services technicians, utility workers, government employees, and other specialized trades that cost companies even more than $50/hour. |
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System Cost | In its ROI calculation, short-seller wrongly assumes hybrid kit cost of $17,000. | In fact, XL Fleet’s analysis is based on volume pricing for XL’s hybrid Transit van system of $13,000 per system. This pricing is based on an actual 2020 customer order, including estimated cost of installation. |
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About XL Fleet Corp.
XL Fleet is a leading provider of vehicle electrification solutions for commercial and municipal fleets in North America, with more than 145 million miles driven by customers such as The Coca-Cola Company, Verizon, Yale University and the City of Boston. XL Fleet’s hybrid and plug-in hybrid electric drive systems can increase fuel economy up to 25-50 percent and reduce carbon dioxide emissions up to 20-33 percent, decreasing operating costs and meeting sustainability goals while enhancing fleet operations. XL Fleet’s plug-in hybrid electric drive system was named one of TIME magazine's best inventions of 2019. For additional information, please visit www.xlfleet.com.
Forward Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release may constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements generally are accompanied by words such as “believe,” “may,” “will,” “estimate,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “expect,” “should,” “would,” “plan,” “predict,” “potential,” “seem,” “seek,” “future,” “outlook,” and similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters. These statements are based on various assumptions, whether or not identified in this press release, and on the current expectations of management and are not predictions of actual performance. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements, including but not limited to failure to realize the anticipated benefits from the business combination; the effects of pending and future legislation; the highly competitive nature of the Company’s business and the commercial vehicle electrification market; litigation, complaints, product liability claims and/or adverse publicity; cost increases or shortages in the components or chassis necessary to support the Company’s products and services; the introduction of new technologies; the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Company’s business, results of operations, financial condition, regulatory compliance and customer experience; the potential loss of certain significant customers; privacy and data protection laws, privacy or data breaches, or the loss of data; general economic, financial, legal, political and business conditions and changes in domestic and foreign markets; the inability to convert its sales opportunity pipeline into binding orders; risks related to the rollout of the Company’s business and the timing of expected business milestones; the effects of competition on the Company’s future business; the availability of capital; and the other risks discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” in the definitive proxy statement/prospectus filed on December 8, 2020 and other documents that the Company files with the SEC in the future. If any of these risks materialize or our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results could differ materially from the results implied by these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof and the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.
Last Trade: | US$2.90 |
Daily Change: | -0.03 -1.02 |
Daily Volume: | 76,582 |
Market Cap: | US$53.940M |
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