MONTREAL, May 17, 2021 /CNW Telbec/ - First Student, the
largest student transportation provider in North America, and 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 jointly announced that First Student is ordering 260
all-electric LionC school buses.
This is the largest order of school buses by a single customer
in Lion's history. The order will make First Student the largest
operator of zero-emission school buses in North America. Deliveries will take place
beginning in the second half of 2021 through the first half of
2023. The buses will be used by Transco, First Student's subsidiary
that operates in Quebec.
"Today marks a new step in the adoption of zero-emission school
buses," said Marc Bedard, CEO and
Founder of Lion. "First Student's leadership demonstrates that
zero-emission technology is here to meet the needs of the market at
scale, as is our production capacity – we are not talking about
pilot programs, but rather entire bus fleets going electric, with
vehicles that meet the daily requirements of the industry's largest
operators."
The company already operates a number of Lion all-electric
school buses. As part of the purchase, the LionEnergy team will
strategically work with First Student for the selection and
installation of necessary infrastructure so that the operator can
adequately scale its zero-emission operations.
"We are proud to take this significant step to improve the
environmental health of our student passengers and the communities
we serve," said First Student President Paul Osland. "First Student embraces the
importance that electrification and zero-emission technologies will
play in the future of student transportation. The electrification
of school buses has already started and is poised to accelerate
rapidly. This work with Lion Electric is an important step to
position First Student as North
America's leading owner and operator of electric school
buses."
"At First Student, we long have been at the forefront of
developing and implementing innovations in transportation," said
First Student's Senior Vice President of Strategy, Business
Development, Marketing and Communications, Claire Miller. "Now, as the largest
operator of zero-emission school buses in North America, we will play a critical role in
helping communities improve air quality and environmental health
for passengers and the community. With the purchase of 260 buses,
everyone wins. We cannot wait to start bringing them online
soon."
"We are very excited to be putting the buses into operation in
our own backyard here in Quebec,
where soon an electric school bus will be a common sight," said
Benoit Morin, Vice President of
Sales, Canada, at Lion. "Getting
children excited about zero-emission technologies today sets them
up for a lifetime of climate advocacy, to the benefit of their
communities and the planet."
Over the last decade, Lion has established itself as a leader in
the zero-emission heavy-duty vehicle industry, having 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 manufactured at Lion's North
American facility, which has a current capacity to produce 2,500
electric trucks per year.
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
About First Student
As the leading school
transportation solutions provider in North America, First Student strives to
provide the best start and finish to every school day. First
Student completes five million student journeys each day, moving
more passengers than all U.S. airlines combined. With a team of
highly-trained drivers and the industry's strongest safety record,
First Student delivers reliable, quality services including
full-service transportation and management, special-needs
transportation, route optimization and scheduling, maintenance, and
charter services with a fleet of about 40,000 buses. For more
information, please visit firststudentinc.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