Its Catalyst E2 all-electric bus traveled 1,101.2 miles over a test track on a single charge, the company said.

That bests a range record set in Germany six years ago, when a vehicle called the Schluckspecht-E logged 1,013.76 miles.

The Schluckspecht-E, however, was an aerodynamic lightweight single-seat car, not a 40-foot brick-shaped mass transit bus.

The test was part publicity stunt and part demonstration of the gains made in electric vehicle technology. The longest range Tesla Model S, for example, is rated at 335 miles between charges.

No one has ordered the test bus, laden with battery packs totaling 660 kilowatt hours of energy. The top-end Tesla battery pack is 100 kilowatt hours.

Those comparisons demonstrate the scale of the Proterra project. No one would be choosing between the two, of course.

But Tesla plans to introduce an electric semi-truck tractor concept vehicle in October. Other truck and bus companies have introduced or are planning to introduce all-electric heavy-duty vehicles. One is the Chinese company BYD, which operates a bus and truck assembly plant in Lancaster.