Trucking startup Harbinger remains a relatively recent player in the market, yet the adaptability of its electric vehicle platform has enabled it to secure another client in a distinct sector. This time, Harbinger’s chassis will serve in emergency vehicles for the 70-year-old company Frazer.

The two firms disclosed on Wednesday that Frazer will manufacture ambulances based on the hybrid variant of Harbinger’s platform, as well as larger mobile healthcare units. Frazer will also engage with Harbinger’s newly launched energy storage division, introduced earlier this year in collaboration with Airstream.

This agreement exemplifies how companies like Harbinger are achieving success with electric and hybrid vehicles, despite challenges in the passenger vehicle market within the United States. Grounded, another Detroit-based startup, announced this week that it partnered with Colgate to create a small fleet of mobile dental care units.

The secret to Harbinger’s achievements lies in its versatile platform, according to co-founder and CEO John Harris in an exclusive conversation with TechCrunch. The straightforward truck chassis can be adjusted in length based on customer specifications, and Harbinger can integrate a range-extending combustion engine if needed. Although Harbinger has only been around for a few years, this singular platform now supports RVs (built with THOR Industries), FedEx delivery vans, a smaller box truck model, and ambulances, assisting the company in raising over $300 million to date.

“When you consider the step van and RV applications, we have three wheelbases, four different GVWR [gross vehicle weight ratings], and about four powertrain options, with four, five, [or] six battery packs, along with the hybrid across all of it. We maintain 99.5% parts commonality,” said Harris. “That’s the game changer.”

Frazer CEO Laura Griffin remarked to TechCrunch that transitioning to Harbinger’s hybrid powertrain — mainly electric but utilizing the gas engine to recharge the battery — was an obvious choice as it reduces her customers’ overall ownership costs and boosts their operational availability.

“We’re always on the lookout for innovations that can enhance the experience for our end users, typically municipalities, 911 services, and hospitals,” she stated. “They’re doing it in comparison to other medium-duty chassis, so it fulfills all of our requirements.”

Griffin indicated that Frazer will procure the battery-powered auxiliary power units from Harbinger, deploying them on both the new hybrid emergency vehicles and existing combustion models. These will substitute standard generators and enable first responders (or users of the mobile healthcare units) to power medical equipment in the field without draining a vehicle’s battery or combustion engine.

“In the rear of an emergency vehicle, like an ambulance, you can visualize there’s a significant amount of equipment, and all of the latest sophisticated tools tend to rely on power,” Griffin explained. “So we’re in search of abundant clean power sources that don’t have to be attached to the chassis.”

Harris anticipates this will develop into a lucrative business regardless of how many hybrid vehicles Frazer acquires, as the auxiliary power units remain valuable across various powertrains.

“It will lead to a quicker growth trajectory, since there are thousands of ambulances,” he stated. He is also exploring other sectors, particularly in Harbinger’s home state of California, where there are stricter regulations against gas generator usage.

“There’s considerable interest from individuals expressing that they don’t want a generator six feet from an operator for 12 hours a day; they’d prefer to save money with batteries and are eager to reduce emissions,” he noted.