Here's what you need to know:
- The Quebec-based electric vehicle manufacturer has declared bankruptcy and is auctioning off its 900,000 sq. ft. Joliet, Illinois assembly plant on May 21.
- The plant as the largest U.S. facility dedicated solely to all-electric medium- vehicles.
- The auction includes over 300 pieces of vehicle assembly equipment.
The end has come for Quebec-based Lion Electric, specifically its U.S. production operation. The now-bankrupt manufacturer of battery-electric school buses is set to auction off its 900,000 square-foot Joliet, Ill. assembly plant on May 21.
[Related: Lion Electric files for bankruptcy protection]
Lion suspended Ill. production late last year.
The online auction is being facilitated by Workingman Capital, which confirmed the factory includes over 300 pieces of equipment, including vehicle lifts, paint booths, forklifts, and self-standing crane systems.
Full auction and factory inventory details can be read here.
Lion Electric did not respond to a request for comment.
The factory, located about 50 miles from Chicago, opened in July 2023 and was the largest U.S.-based facility solely dedicated to all-electric medium- and heavy-duty vehicle manufacturing. It's said to be capable of producing around 20,000 vehicles annually.
Ill. Gov. J.B. Pritzker, a longtime advocate of zero-emission vehicles, attended the factory's opening ceremony.
Lion Electric also built medium- and heavy-duty semis in Canada, where it filed for bankruptcy protection last December.
The Quebec government invested around $177 million CAD into Lion while Ottawa provided an additional $30 million CAD. Pritzker confirmed Lion has not received any state funds.
[Related: Illinois Gov 'disappointed' in struggling Lion Electric, blames Trump]
Production and sales initially got off to a solid start when Lion sold nearly 800 buses back in 2023, but the party didn't last long.
For example, a Lion bus carrying students to school was forced to pull off to the roadside following a technical alert. The students were safely evacuated but the bus ultimately caught on fire.
Several U.S. school districts also purchased these buses with financial assistance from the Biden-era EPA Clean School Bus Program to replace aging diesel-powered buses.
There were soon reports of malfunctioning buses, such as a loss of power steering. Lion was working with involved districts to resolve these issues but there was a lack of technical support, likely a result of layoffs.
More recently, Lion is the target of at least two legal investigations due to concerns the company committed U.S. federal securities fraud.
[Related: NY law firm investigating Lion Electric over possible federal law violations]
Along with Lion Electric, other once-promising electric vehicle startups have also recently gone under. A few examples include Nikola, Lordstown Motors, and Fisker.
