MONTREAL, Oct. 25, 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 it has received a conditional purchase order
for 1,000 all-electric LionC school buses from Student
Transportation of Canada ("STC"),
a subsidiary of Student Transportation of America ("STA"), a
north-American leader in student transportation, safety and fleet
management services, whose controlling shareholder is Caisse de
dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ).
The purchase order is conditional upon the satisfactory grant of
non-repayable contributions to STC under Infrastructure Canada's
Zero-Emission Transit Fund ("ZETF"), for which STC has filed a
formal application. Under the ZETF program, the Government of
Canada aims to invest $2.75 billion over five years to support
public transit and school bus operators in the transition to
electrification.
If confirmed, this purchase order would allow STC to become the
largest operator of zero-emission school buses in North America. This investment would also
contribute to CDPQ's portfolio decarbonation objectives. Deliveries
would begin in 2022 and occur through the first half of 2026. These
electric buses would replace existing diesel vehicles within STC's
Canadian fleet. The operator plans on working closely with its
customers and partners to determine which school boards would adopt
the electric buses if fulfilled.
Lion estimates that the deployment of 1,000 all-electric school
buses would help eliminate approximately 23,000 tons of
greenhouse gas emissions per year, in addition to significantly
reducing noise pollution for the communities in which they
operate.
"We applaud STC for its leadership and vision to accelerate the
deployment of all-electric school buses in Canada, and we thank them for trusting Lion
with such an important transition" said Marc Bedard, CEO –
Founder of Lion Electric. "This large-scale deployment would
position Canada as a clear leader
in the electrification of school transportation, in great part due
to innovative programs like the ZETF. We are proud to be working
together with STC, the Caisse de dépôt and the Canadian Federal
Government to provide a cleaner future for our children," he
concluded.
"We are pleased to support electric school bus deployment in
Canada. The ZETF enables school
bus electrification to move closer to reality, with students as the
true beneficiaries," said Chris
Harwood, President of Student Transportation of Canada. "There is still much more work to be
done, but STC recognizes that as global stewards we must act to
operate sustainably. Electrification is a huge step toward
improving the environment for our students and the communities we
serve. We look forward to working with Lion, government leaders,
our majority shareholder CDPQ and our customers. Together, we hope
to move toward a sustainable future."
"As the controlling shareholder of Student Transportation, we
are delighted to support the company in its green shift, with the
deployment of a fleet that would make it the largest operator of
zero-emission school busses in North
America. Driving the next generation to their place of
learning in electric transport is a good illustration of our vision
for a more sustainable future. This ambitious program, carried out
thanks to Lion, the Quebec leader
in electric transport, will directly contribute to our commitment
to reduce the carbon intensity of our portfolio by 60% by 2030,"
said Emmanuel Jaclot, Executive Vice-President and Head of
Infrastructure at CDPQ.
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 all the key components of its
vehicles, 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 STUDENT TRANSPORTATION OF AMERICA
Founded in
1997, Student Transportation of America (STA) is an industry leader
in school transportation, safety and fleet services. STA operates
more than 16,000 vehicles, providing customers with the
highest level of safe and reliable student transportation,
management, logistics and technology solutions throughout the U.S.
and Canada. Services are delivered
by drivers, dispatchers, maintenance technicians, managers,
information technology professionals and others, who are caring
members of their local communities. For more information, please
visit www.rideSTA.com.
ABOUT CDPQ
At Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec
(CDPQ), we invest constructively to generate sustainable returns
over the long term. As a global investment group managing funds for
public retirement and insurance plans, we work alongside our
partners to build enterprises that drive performance and progress.
We are active in the major financial markets, private equity,
infrastructure, real estate and private debt. As at
June 30, 2021 CDPQ's net assets total
CAD 390 billion. For more information, visit cdpq.com,
follow us on Twitter or consult our Facebook or LinkedIn pages.
CAUTION REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This press release contains "forward-looking information" and
"forward-looking statements" (collectively, "forward-looking
statements") within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Any
statements contained in this press release that are not statements
of historical fact, including statements about Lion's beliefs and
expectations, are forward-looking statements and should be
evaluated as such. Forward-looking statements may be identified by
the use of words such as "believe," "may," "will," "continue,"
"anticipate," "intend," "expect," "should," "would," "could,"
"plan," "project," "potential," "seem," "seek," "future," "target"
or other similar expressions and any other statements 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 forward-looking
statements include statements regarding the conditional purchase
order received from STC, the potential award of grant funding to
STC from the ZETF, the number of vehicles subject to, and the
expected timing of deliveries under, the purchase order received
from STC.
The Company made a number of economic, market and operational
assumptions in preparing and making certain forward-looking
statements contained in this press release including, but not
limited to, that Lion will be able to retain and hire key personnel
and maintain relationships with customers, suppliers and other
business partners, that Lion will continue to operate its business
in the normal course, that Lion will be able to implement its
growth strategy, that Lion will be able to successfully and timely
complete the construction of its U.S. manufacturing facility and
its Quebec battery plant and
innovation center, that Lion will not suffer any material
disruption in the supply of raw materials on competitive terms,
that Lion will be able to maintain its competitive position, that
Lion will continue to improve its operational, financial and other
internal controls and systems to manage its growth and size and
that its results of operations and financial condition will not be
adversely affected, that Lion will be able to benefit, either
directly or indirectly (including through its clients), from
government subsidies and economic incentives in the future and that
Lion will be able to secure any required additional funding through
equity or debt financing on terms acceptable to Lion. Such
estimates and assumptions are made by Lion in light of the
experience of management and their perception of historical trends,
current conditions and expected future developments, as well as
other factors believed to be appropriate and reasonable in the
circumstances. However, there can be no assurance that such
estimates and assumptions will prove to be correct.
By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and
uncertainties because they relate to events and depend on
circumstances that may or may not occur in the future. Lion
believes that these risks and uncertainties include, but are not
limited to, the following: any adverse changes in the U.S. and
Canadian general economic, business, market, financial, political
and legal conditions, including as consequences of the global
COVID-19 pandemic and the emergence of COVID-19 variants and
varying rates of vaccination amongst various countries; Lion's
inability to successfully and economically manufacture and
distribute its vehicles at scale and meet its customers' business
needs; Lion's reliance on key management and any inability to
attract and/or retain key personnel; Lion's inability to execute
its growth strategy; Any unfavorable fluctuations and volatility in
the price of raw materials included in key components used to
manufacture Lion's products; Lion's reliance on key suppliers and
any inability to maintain an uninterrupted supply of raw materials;
Lion's inability to maintain its competitive position; Lion's
inability to reduce its costs of supply over time; any inability to
maintain and enhance Lion's reputation and brand; any significant
product repair and/or replacement due to product warranty claims or
product recalls; any failure of information technology systems or
any cybersecurity and data privacy breaches or incidents; the
reduction, elimination or discriminatory application of government
subsidies and economic incentives or the reduced need for such
subsidies; natural disasters, epidemic or pandemic outbreaks,
boycotts and geo-political events; the outcome of any legal
proceedings that may be instituted against the Company from time to
time.
These and other risks and uncertainties related to the
businesses of Lion are described in greater detail in the section
entitled "Risk Factors" in the Company's final prospectus dated
May 5, 2021 (the "Canadian Prospectus") filed with the
Autorité des marchés financiers (the "AMF") and the registration
statement on Form F-1 (the "Registration Statement") filed
with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") and
declared effective on June 14, 2021 and other documents
publicly filed with the AMF and the SEC. Many of these risks are
beyond Lion's management's ability to control or predict. All
forward-looking statements attributable to Lion or persons acting
on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the
cautionary statements contained, and risk factors identified, in
the Canadian Prospectus, the Registration Statement and other
documents filed with the AMF and the SEC.
Because of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, readers
should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking
statements. Furthermore, forward-looking statements speak only as
of the date they are made. Except as required under applicable
securities laws, Lion undertakes no obligation, and expressly
disclaims any duty, to update, revise or review any forward-looking
information, whether as a result of new information, future events
or otherwise.
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SOURCE Lion Electric