New Mexico's Green Bet: GreenPower to Build Major EV Plant in Santa Teresa

SANTA TERESA, NM – January 08, 2026 – New Mexico is making a significant wager on a green-collar future, partnering with Canadian electric vehicle manufacturer GreenPower Motor Company to establish a major manufacturing facility and U.S. corporate headquarters in Santa Teresa. The deal, announced today, promises to create over 340 jobs and inject more than $200 million in economic impact into the state over the next decade, marking a pivotal moment in New Mexico's push to become a leader in the clean energy economy.

GreenPower, a manufacturer of all-electric medium and heavy-duty vehicles, will construct a 135,000-square-foot facility in the southern New Mexico border town. This plant will become the company's North American operational base, producing a range of zero-emission vehicles from school buses to cargo trucks. The move represents a major expansion for the Vancouver-based company, which currently operates facilities in California and West Virginia.

A Strategic Bet on a Green Future

The partnership is underpinned by a substantial state incentive package worth approximately $14.6 million. This includes a $5 million award from the Local Economic Development Act (LEDA), $4.6 million in job training funds (JTIP), and millions more in tax credits for creating rural and high-wage jobs. This financial commitment is a cornerstone of Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham's administration's strategy to align economic development with aggressive environmental goals.

"Our decisive commitment to the goal of net zero emissions ensures New Mexico's position as a leader in the nation's clean energy transition," Governor Lujan Grisham stated. "With this strategic investment, we're creating high-quality jobs and strengthening our economy while building the carbon-free energy future New Mexico's families deserve."

The state's relationship with GreenPower is not new. In 2025, the company collaborated with the Economic Development Department (EDD) to launch New Mexico's first all-electric school bus pilot program. The two-year project, involving schools in Las Vegas and Santa Fe, provides critical real-world data to inform a statewide transition, directly supporting New Mexico's Energy Transition Act, which mandates a 100% zero-carbon electricity supply by 2045.

"The electric school bus pilot project was an important first step in bringing GreenPower manufacturing and their high-quality jobs to New Mexico," said EDD Cabinet Secretary Rob Black. He noted that the insights gained are helping to tailor the state's future electric fleet specifications to meet the unique needs of local districts.

The Santa Teresa Advantage: A North American Power Play

For GreenPower, the choice of Santa Teresa is a calculated strategic move designed to secure a competitive edge in the burgeoning North American EV market. A critical factor in the decision was the location's designation as a Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ). This provides significant operational and financial advantages, including streamlined customs procedures, deferred tariffs on imported components, and simplified logistics for distributing finished vehicles across the continent.

The FTZ status also grants access to the North American Development Bank, which finances environmental infrastructure projects along the U.S.-Mexico border, highlighting the project's binational significance. This positions the Santa Teresa plant within a dynamic industrial corridor that leverages the maquiladora industry and a growing logistics network, including a major Union Pacific intermodal facility.

"Establishing GreenPower's new manufacturing facility in Santa Teresa marks a significant milestone in our expansion and commitment to safe, sensible, sustainable transportation solutions," said Fraser Atkinson, CEO of GreenPower. "This strategic move leverages the region's highly skilled and dedicated workforce."

While the move represents a major growth opportunity, it also comes at a pivotal time for the company. GreenPower operates with a significant debt load and has reported negative earnings in the last year. However, analysts are forecasting substantial revenue growth of 76% in the current fiscal year, and the company recently secured an $18 million financing facility to ramp up school bus production. The New Mexico plant, with its strategic advantages, is a high-stakes play to scale production, improve margins, and capture a larger share of the market.

From School Buses to Box Trucks: A New Era for Commercial EVs

The Santa Teresa facility is poised to become a key production hub for a wide array of commercial electric vehicles. The plant will manufacture GreenPower's Type A Nano Beast and Type D Beast school buses, along with a new, larger Mega Beast model. This aligns perfectly with a rapidly growing market, where federal incentives like the EPA's Clean School Bus Program are accelerating the replacement of diesel fleets. North America's electric school bus market is projected to see a compound annual growth rate of nearly 8% through 2030.

Beyond schools, the factory will produce GreenPower's versatile line of Class 4 all-electric commercial vehicles. This includes box trucks, refrigerated trucks, passenger vans, and utility trucks, catering to the logistics and delivery sectors that are under increasing pressure to decarbonize. The overall North American electric commercial vehicle market is projected to surge to over $64 billion by 2030.

"We know the transportation sector is the largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in the nation -- here in New Mexico, we want to lead on policy, manufacturing and deployment of zero emissions vehicles," said New Mexico Secretary of Transportation Ricky Serna. "GreenPower's move to the state is an important part in helping the state achieve these important energy transition goals."

As part of the agreement, GreenPower will offer its full lineup of commercial vehicles to the state at dealer-level pricing, further cementing the public-private partnership. The company plans to begin setting up operations in the first quarter of 2026, with the first vehicles expected to roll off the production line by June 1, 2026. A public showcase of the company's vehicles is scheduled to take place in Santa Fe during the upcoming legislative session, offering a tangible glimpse of the state's newly supercharged green economy.