What you need to know:
- The Quebec-based company declared bankruptcy late last year. It has since been acquired by a group of Canadian investors and rebranded as LION.
- Under new ownership, LION is abandoning its previous product line of battery-electric Class 6 and 8 trucks. It will now focus exclusively on electric school buses for the Quebec market.
- Warranty and maintenance services will resume gradually, but only Quebec-based clients are explicitly mentioned.
- U.S. clients, specifically schools who purchased buses from then-Lion Electric via the EPA's Clean School Bus Program, are not mentioned in LION’s official communications.
The future of Quebec-based Lion Electric is emerging after declaring bankruptcy late last year. Its revival plans, however, may not satisfy existing customers, particularly in the U.S.
As previously reported, a group of Canadian investors received Superior Court of Quebec approval in May to purchase the company, since renamed LION.
That's not the only change under new ownership.
A media representative who works with LION reached out to Clean Trucking confirmed, via a press release, that "The new owners plan to streamline operations by focusing exclusively on electric school buses, fully assembled locally and intended for the Quebec market. This will allow LION to resume production, continue supporting its hundreds of clients, and ensure maintenance of the approximately 1,000 electric school buses currently operating in the province."
[Related: Lion Electric EV school bus catches fire on way to school]
Translation: the former Lion Electric's lineup of battery-electric Class 6 and 8 semis are officially discontinued. The reborn LION will solely focus on EV school buses. But for whom?
The release confirms LION will honor all customer warranties and that "Maintenance services and the supply of parts will gradually resume, taking into account a transition period required to relaunch operations."
But it does not specifically mention Lion Electric's U.S. bus customers — only those in the province of Quebec.
In our exclusive report, Clean Trucking learned these electric school buses are now suffering from a series of technical and safety issues after interviewing officials from two U.S. school districts who purchased electric buses with funds provided by the EPA's Clean School Bus Program, itself funded by former President Biden's 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
Winthrop Public Schools' Lion Electric buses have been removed from service due to unresolved technical and safety issues.Winthrop Public Schools
The LION representative did not reply to our repeated requests for clarification regarding the inclusion of U.S. customers in all future maintenance and warranty coverage.
Prior to bankruptcy, then-Lion Electric manufactured a lineup of battery-electric Class 6 and 8 semis in Saint-Jerome, Quebec while its EV school buses were made in Joliet, Ill. at a now-permanently shuttered 900,000 sq. ft. factory.
[Related: Lion Electric suspends Illinois plant production, lays off hundreds]
LION says it's prioritizing an operations restart and a relaunch of essential customer services while continuing to "mobilize our teams." It also confirmed company leadership will not "grant media interviews or provide additional public comments for the time being."
