Micro Bird Holdings, a Blue Bird and bus distributor Girardin joint venture and North American market leader in the Type A school bus market, has acquired a controlling interest in the EV drivetrain integrator and supplier GranTuned Automobiles (Ecotuned). This strategic acquisition firmly positions Micro Bird for substantial growth in the light- and medium-duty EV market by bringing core electrification-expertise and value to both Micro Bird and the broader Blue Bird Corporation.

Founded in 2011, Ecotuned has successfully developed one of the most efficient EV drivetrains for light- and medium-duty applications. Its market-leading energy-efficient EV conversion solution comes predominantly from a proprietary two-speed EV transmission, battery management systems (BMS) as well as advanced algorithms, which allow for a smaller electric motor, fewer batteries and more useful payload, without compromising performance. The Ecotuned drivetrain comes standard with Level 2 and 3 charging and is V2G capable.

All three founding members will continue to be shareholders and play an instrumental role in the evolution of the company.

Micro Bird and Ecotuned have been closely working together for more than five years to perfect the medium-duty EV powertrain which is currently offered in the Micro Bird G5.

MicroBird G5 Electric

The intent from the beginning was always to offer a properly integrated solution that works in harmony with our products and is supported by an experienced and established network of dealers and professionals.

—Steve Girardin, president of Micro Bird

The Micro Bird and Ecotuned partnership has achieved more than 80% market share in the North American Type A school bus market over the last twelve months. This segment leadership further reinforces Blue Bird’s overall North American market share leadership in the EV school bus market, having delivered more EV school buses in the last 12 months than all its competitors combined.

In addition to the school bus segment, Micro Bird also plans to deploy its Micro Bird G5 with Ecotuned EV powertrain in the commercial bus segment; more details to come. Ecotuned also plans to expand its EV powertrains in class 3 to 7 segments across various vocations.