Small Business Wins $328,000 in Grant Funding
The transition to clean transportation continues with a new attitude from small businesses nationwide. Many businesses are adopting commercial electric vehicles to fit their sustainability goals, utilizing an ROI driven approach in the transition. This approach allows businesses to adopt EVs at accelerated rates, while facilitating quicker payback periods on their investments. What's surprising is this even holds when compared to EV acquisitions during the pandemic where interest rates were at a decade low.
For Traveling Tykes, a New Jersey-based childcare transportation provider, this journey toward electrification was made seamless and cost-effective thanks to the guidance of EVx. This case study outlines the strategy, execution, and results of their partnership, offering valuable insight into how funding programs can be leveraged to reduce upfront capital expenditure on commercial EVs.
Understanding the Client: Traveling Tykes
Traveling Tykes provides specialized childcare transportation services in New Jersey, focusing on safe, reliable, and accessible mobility solutions for young children and their families. With a strong commitment to safety and community service, the company saw an opportunity to align its fleet with sustainability goals by transitioning to electric vehicles (EVs). However, navigating the complex landscape of EV procurement, funding programs, and product selection presented a significant challenge.
That’s where EVx stepped in.
EVx's Role: Electrification Advisory and Strategic Funding Partner
EVx partnered with Traveling Tykes to act as their electrification advisor, offering a comprehensive service package that evaluated every aspect of the electrification journey. The firm delivered a detailed report covering available OEM (original equipment manufacturer) options suitable for the business’s operational model. This report included:
Real-world feedback on client experiences with various electric vehicle products.
Technical and use case analysis to ensure vehicle performance meets specific route needs.
Assessment of vehicle charging plans.
Budget analysis and funding strategy optimization.
Central to this advisory process was a deep dive into the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) ZIP program, which offers substantial incentives for commercial electric vehicle purchases. You can read more about the NJ ZIP program here.
Funding and Negotiation Strategy
EVx’s involvement extended well beyond research and recommendations. The team worked directly with vehicle OEMs and selling dealers to negotiate MSRP pricing and funding terms. Acting as the client’s liaison with the NJ ZIP program, EVx was able to streamline the funding process, ensuring that Traveling Tykes not only qualified for but also maximized their award potential.
The results speak for themselves:
Vehicles Acquired: 4 x Cenntro LS400 models
Funding Awarded via NJ ZIP: $82,000 per vehicle
Total Funding Awarded: $328,000
Time to Receive Funds: Approximately 6 weeks
Sales Tax Waiver: Customer paid NO Sales Tax due to State Issued Waiver active at time of sale.
Bottom Line: Total Funding covered over 98% of Total Vehicle costs.
See the state-certified award letter below as we secured funding for Traveling Tykes:
Client Feedback and Success Highlights
The outcome for Traveling Tykes was a high-quality electric vehicle fleet, with state funding covering over 98% of Total Vehicle Costs, savings that dramatically lowered the barrier to electrification for a small, service-oriented business, and showing payback on Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of less than 3 months compared to diesel comparables.
As Traveling Tykes shared:
“EVx led our process between multiple OEMs, the selling dealer, and acted as our liaison on our behalf to the NJ ZIP program. EVx was able to deliver the savings they had promised by maximizing all available government funding on this deal. Which was the NJ Voucher, and both sales and federal tax deductions we were able to utilize”.
How to Win Funding for your Business?
The Traveling Tykes case illustrates the power of working with specialized advisory when approaching commercial electrification. EVx’s proven framework ensures that clients receive tailored guidance that results in optimized vehicle selection and maximum funding. To date, EVx has successfully helped dozens of clients secure more than $17 million in rebates and cash funding awards across various clean energy initiatives.
Whether your business is looking to acquire commercial electric vehicles, install charging infrastructure, or implement other sustainability-focused projects, the process of securing grants, rebates, tax credits, and incentives is essential to reducing capital expenditure. EVx brings deep expertise in this arena, ensuring that clean energy adoption becomes not just environmentally responsible—but also economically viable.
Partner with EVx
As shown in this successful collaboration with Traveling Tykes, EVx provides a practical, results-driven approach to electrification. If your business is exploring electric vehicle procurement or sustainable infrastructure development, EVx is here to navigate the complexity and deliver strategic results tailored to your needs.
Visit travelingtykes.us to learn more about the client’s mission, or contact EVx to begin your own journey toward clean and cost-effective fleet transformation.
