Spartan Motors' Utilimaster® Brand Receives Follow-On Order From Leading Parcel Delivery Providers To Advance Efficiency Of Last Mile Delivery Services

CHARLOTTE, Mich., May 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Spartan Fleet Vehicles & Services ("Spartan" or "Spartan FVS"), a business unit of Spartan Motors, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPAR), announced today an expanded order from a leading American-based delivery services company to include 800 of Spartan's fuel-efficient Utilimaster Reach® walk-in vans. The vehicles will be built at Spartan's Charlotte, Mich. facility over the course of the next eight months. Additionally, a separate global logistics leader ordered 72 of the same vehicle this past week.

Last year, the American courier placed a substantial Reach order, then added on another 800 units this year due to early, positive response to the Reach's design, and the company's need to meet the ever-changing "last mile" parcel delivery landscape that is directly impacted by the growing e-commerce retail trade. Last week, a business unit of the world's leading postal and logistics company placed a modest, yet telling order for the same vehicle.

Spartan first introduced the Reach, an innovative, fuel-efficient walk-in van in March of 2011. It utilizes a state-of-the-art Isuzu 4JJI-TC 3.0 liter turbocharged four-cylinder diesel engine paired with an aerodynamic Utilimaster body design to provide up to 35 percent better fuel economy than traditional walk-in vans, without compromising interior cargo capacity.

"We're in the business of problem solving for our customers, and we believe the Reach is a great example of our strategic approach to design," said Daryl Adams, Chief Executive Officer of Spartan Motors. "It's inspired by more than 40 years of custom fleet vehicle engineering, and it offers a rare combination of cargo capacity, low cost of ownership, reduced footprint, and improved fuel economy.  For two leading parcel delivery organizations to demonstrate their confidence in this vehicle to this degree says a lot about our understanding of today's Last Mile Delivery fleet requirements and our ability to forecast tomorrow's change."

Available in lengths of 12 feet or 14 feet, the Reach provides 540 or 630 cubic feet of storage and up to 27 inches more headroom than a conventional cargo van. Additionally, it provides 10 inches more aisle width than traditional European vans.

"We have the capacity, the knowledge, and skillset on-campus today to ramp up production so we can respond to the growing demand for fuel-efficient fleets effortlessly," said Adams. "The efficiency of last mile delivery grows in importance with every new e-commerce order, and we're uniquely positioned to meet the needs of the modernized fleet."  

For more information on Spartan's Fleet Vehicles & Services or its Utilimaster Reach, please visit www.spartanmotors.com/fleet-vehicles.

About Spartan Motors

Spartan Motors, Inc. is a leading designer, engineer, manufacturer and marketer of a broad range of specialty vehicles, specialty chassis, vehicle bodies and parts for the fleet and delivery, recreational vehicle (RV), emergency response, defense forces and contract assembly (light/medium duty truck) markets. The Company's brand names — Spartan Motors, Spartan Specialty Vehicles, Spartan Emergency Response, Spartan Parts and Accessories; Smeal® and its family of brands, including Ladder Tower™ and UST®; and Utilimaster®, a Spartan Motors Company — are known for quality, durability, performance, customer service and first-to-market innovation. The Company employs approximately 2,200 associates and operates facilities in Michigan, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Wisconsin, Nebraska, South Dakota; Saltillo, Mexico; and Lima, Peru. Spartan reported sales of $591 million in 2016. Visit Spartan Motors at www.spartanmotors.com.

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SOURCE Spartan Motors, Inc.