MONTREAL, June 3, 2021 /CNW Telbec/ - The Lion Electric
Company (NYSE: LEV) (TSX: LEV) ("Lion" or the "Company"), a leading
manufacturer of all-electric medium and heavy-duty urban vehicles,
today announced that the company's upcoming battery manufacturing
plant and innovation center will be located at the YMX
International Aerocity of Mirabel,
Quebec.
To commemorate the announcement, a groundbreaking ceremony was
hosted near the site of the future facility, with Mr. Patrick Charbonneau, Interim Mayor of the
City of Mirabel, Mr. Philippe Rainville, CEO and President of ADM
Aéroports de Montréal and Mr. Marc
Bedard, CEO and Founder of Lion Electric in attendance.
The facility will be located adjacent to Montreal-Mirabel
International Airport on a 1.6 million square foot property, with
development planned to begin in June
2021. Lion selected the Mirabel location as it offers the company
several strategic advantages, including proximity to its current
Saint-Jérôme, Quebec,
manufacturing plant and access to transportation infrastructure,
such as highways and airport, to facilitate access to suppliers and
customers. The company also plans to repurpose current airport
facilities for use as a test track to aid in its vehicle
development. Located in an area of dense nature, the site is well
suited to Lion's sustainability practices while also offering
opportunity for future expansion.
Originally announced in March
2021, Lion's battery manufacturing plant and innovation
center represents an investment of approximately $185 million CAD. The facility is expected to be
completed in the second half of 2022, with a planned annual battery
production capacity of 5 gigawatt hours, enough to electrify
approximately 14,000 of Lion's medium and heavy-duty zero-emission
trucks and buses. Maintaining ownership of its battery production
is a key strategic differentiator for the company and allows Lion
increased control of a key part of its product supply chain while
simultaneously lowering costs. The factory will be highly automated
and is expected to be able to produce one battery module every 11
seconds and a full battery pack every five minutes.
The City of Electrification and Sustainable
Development
Lion's new facility will be an essential link in a specialized
supply chain critical to electrifying transportation, helping to
create a larger zero-emission technology ecosystem in the
Laurentians region and fostering a world-class talent base. It is
Lion's hope that other leaders in electrification will continue to
locate themselves in the area, growing the local supply chain with
the added benefit of decreasing both vehicle costs and emissions
associated with shipping.
With the completion of the plant, Lion expects to add 135
high-quality direct jobs in Mirabel in the next two years, and up to a
total of 250 direct jobs in the longer term as the company
continues to expand its operations at the site. The completion of
the facility is also projected to create thousands of secondary
jobs in the region.
Lion plans to implement leading sustainable development
practices in the construction of the facility, with more details
around its design to be announced in the future. The company will
also continue to promote the use of electric vehicles with its
employee base and visitors, offering robust charging infrastructure
on site free of charge.
Today's announcement comes amidst increased expansion of the
company's operations, having recently announced the construction of
a vehicle manufacturing facility located in the United States which will also open in the
second half of 2022. To date, Lion has delivered over 390
all-electric heavy-duty vehicles in North
America with over 7 million miles driven since 2016. All of
Lion's vehicles are purpose-built for electric propulsion from the
ground up and are currently manufactured at Lion's North American
facility, which has a current capacity to produce 2,500 electric
buses and trucks per year.
Quotes
"The City of Mirabel
considers itself privileged to collaborate with a world-class
partner like ADM to attract promising projects which will allow us
to further develop land for future industry at the airport complex,
leveraging public infrastructure investments that are being made.
Large-scale projects such as this facility from Lion Electric are
directly in line with our 2018-2021 strategic plan and we are proud
to make significant contributions to not only sustainable
development, but also to the economic success of the region, the
CMM and Quebec," said
Patrick Charbonneau, Interim Mayor
of the City of Mirabel.
"ADM plays an important role in driving economic development
through its two airport sites. Over the past few years, our teams
have increased their efforts to position YMX International Aerocity
of Mirabel as a key aeronautical
and industrial hub, both in Québec and internationally. Today, we
are extremely proud to add Lion Electric to our list of partners,
allowing them to take advantage of our infrastructure, including
our secondary runway and access roads. This is great news for the
entire community, which will benefit from the creation of quality
jobs by a company that operates in a sustainable industry,"
said Philippe Rainville, President
and CEO of ADM Aéroports de Montréal.
"Breaking ground on this project is a very important step in
Lion's journey, and we are delighted to be doing so in this
beautiful landscape in Mirabel
today. ADM has been a fantastic partner in providing us with a
location that fits all of Lion's needs, including access to test
facilities and key infrastructure, with opportunity for future
expansion. The completion of our battery manufacturing plant and
innovation center will bring us increased autonomy, allow us to
lower costs, and bring hundreds of additional highly skilled jobs
to the region. We are eager to see the building start taking shape
shortly and invite other leaders in the industry to join us in
establishing operations in the region," said Marc Bedard, CEO and Founder of Lion
Electric.
About Lion Electric
Lion Electric is an innovative manufacturer
of zero-emission vehicles. The company creates, designs
and manufactures all-electric class 5 to class 8 commercial
urban trucks and all-electric buses and minibuses for the school,
paratransit and mass transit segments. Lion is a North
American leader in electric transportation and designs, builds
and assembles many of its vehicles' components, including chassis,
battery packs, truck cabins and bus bodies.
Always actively seeking new and reliable technologies, Lion
vehicles have unique features that are specifically adapted to its
users and their everyday needs. Lion believes that transitioning to
all-electric vehicles will lead to major improvements in our
society, environment and overall quality of life. Lion shares are
traded on the New York Stock Exchange and the Toronto Stock
Exchange under the symbol LEV.
Lion Electric, The Bright Move
Thelionelectric.com
Forward-Looking Statements
All statements other than statements of historical facts
contained in this press release constitute "forward-looking
statements" (which shall include forward-looking information within
the meaning of Canadian securities laws) within the meaning of
Section 27A of the Securities Act, including statements relating to
the planned construction and the commencement of operations of
Lion's manufacturing facility and its projected production
capacity. Forward-looking statements may generally be identified by
the use of words such as "believe," "may," "will," "continue,"
"anticipate," "intend," "expect," "should," "would," "could,"
"plan," "potential," "future," "target" or other similar
expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or
that are not statements of historical matters, although not all
forward-looking statements contain such identifying words. These
statements are based on various assumptions, whether or not
identified in this press release, and on the current expectations
of Lion's management and are not predictions of actual performance.
These forward-looking statements are provided for the purpose of
assisting readers in understanding certain key elements of Lion's
current objectives, goals, targets, strategic priorities,
expectations and plans, and in obtaining a better understanding of
Lion's business and anticipated operating environment. Readers are
cautioned that such information may not be appropriate for other
purposes and is not intended to serve as, and must not be relied
on, by any investor as a guarantee, an assurance, a prediction or a
definitive statement of fact or probability.
Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and
uncertainties, most of which are difficult to predict and many of
which are beyond the control of Lion, and are based on a number of
assumptions, as well as other factors that Lion believes are
appropriate and reasonable in the circumstances, but there can be
no assurance that such estimates and assumptions will prove to be
correct or that Lion's vision, business, objectives, plans and
strategies will be achieved. Many risks and uncertainties could
cause Lion's actual results, performance or achievements or future
events or developments to differ materially from those expressed or
implied by the forward-looking statements.
In addition, forward-looking statements reflect Lion's
expectations, plans or forecasts of future events and views as of
the date of this press release. Lion anticipates that subsequent
events and developments will cause Lion's assessments to change.
However, while Lion may elect to update these forward-looking
statements at some point in the future, Lion has no intention and
undertakes no obligation to do so, except as required by applicable
law. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as
representing Lion's assessments as of any date subsequent to the
date of this press release. Lion's forward-looking statements are
expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement.
The complete version of the cautionary note regarding
forward-looking statements as well as a description of the relevant
assumptions and risk factors likely to affect Lion's actual
results, performance or achievements or future events or
developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied
by the forward-looking statements are included in the registration
statement on Form F-4 filed by Lion under its profile on EDGAR
at www.sec.gov.
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SOURCE Lion Electric