Lunaz bin lorry business put into administration
Electric commercial vehicle firm Lunaz Applied Technologies (LAT) has been put into administration.
The firm, which planned to repower diesel refuse lorries with electric drivetrains, blamed legislative delays for the move, which is believed to put around 40 jobs at risk. The announcement comes just three months after founder David Lorenz said the Lunaz Group planned to double its workforce by mid-2025.
LAT’s sister company, which specialises in electric conversions of classic cars, is unaffected by the move.
A spokesperson for LAT told EVPowered: “The Lunaz Group is currently restructuring to adjust its business and operations in response to shifting marketing dynamics. These are caused by delays to the legislative requirement for fleets to transition to zero-emissions vehicles.
The commercial vehicle business entity, Lunaz Applied Technologies, has stopped operations with an intent to restart production programmes once market conditions drive demand.
“This decision re-balances focus on structuring the company to meet current and future demand for the company’s passenger vehicle products. An announcement on the business’s new structure will be made in due course.”
Lunaz was launched in 2018 by entrepreneur David Lorenz and former Formula 1 technical director Jon Hilton with backing from big-name investors including David Beckham. Its two-pronged approach to EV conversions involved the commercial vehicle arm and a division focused on high-end conversions of classic cars such as Rolls-Royces and Range Rovers.
LAT’s business plan was to eventually convert up to 1,100 diesel-powered commercial vehicles, including bin lorries and skip loaders annually to electric power. LAT claims that upcycling and electrifying an existing industrial vehicle saves more than 80% of the embedded carbon versus replacing it with a new one.
Last year LAT announced several deals with corporate and council partners to supply its converted vehicles. Among them were agreements with waste management firm Biffa and Buckinghamshire Council.
Anthony Holley, Biffa’s fleet and facilities director, said the announcement would not dent its ambition to cut its emissions. He commented: “We remain committed to growing our net zero fleet as part of wider plans to decarbonise our operations. By next year our target is for 10% of our vehicles to be alternatively fuelled, and our ambition by 2030 is that we will stop buying fossil fuel vehicles altogether. By 2040 our ambition is that there will be no fossil fuel vehicles in the fleet.
“A range of alternative fuels will help us achieve this, including electric, hydrogenated vegetable oil, biomethane and hydrogen, and we look forward to continuing our work with the Lunaz Group when operations for its commercial vehicle products recommence.”
In late 2023, Labour leader Keir Starmer visited the Lunaz Group’s newly expanded Silverstone base and said that Lunaz showed how the UK could take a “global leadership position” in the path to net zero.
