MONTREAL, Jan. 10, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - 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 taken possession of its upcoming
production facility in Joliet,
Ill. Tenant improvement work is ongoing and the company will
shortly begin the installation of critical equipment and expects
the first vehicles to come off the production line in the second
half of 2022.
The manufacturing facility, which was announced last year, will
represent the largest dedicated production site for zero-emission
medium and heavy-duty vehicles in the U.S. upon its completion,
with an expected annual production capacity of up to 20,000
vehicles per year. The facility is expected to add up to 1,400
clean energy jobs in the region over the next four years.
Lion also announced the hiring of two new positions key to the
company's growth.
Richard Coulombe has been named
Senior Vice President, Strategic Initiatives. In this new role, Mr.
Coulombe will be responsible for leading Lion's growth and
strategic initiatives, with a primary focus on major upcoming
projects including the Joliet,
Ill. manufacturing facility and the Lion Campus (which
includes the battery manufacturing plant and innovation center) in
Mirabel, Quebec. He will
coordinate with all departments to ensure that Lion's strategic
governance plan is consistent with the company's growth. Mr.
Coulombe's experience spans over 25 years in international public
organizations within the transportation technology sector, having
previously held executive positions at Alstom, Bombardier
Transportation and Pratt & Whitney.
Additionally, Eric Pansegrau is
joining the company and will serve as General Manager – Joliet
Plant, where he will be responsible for establishing operational
structures, implementing manufacturing, distribution, quality
control and inventory standards and processes, and overseeing
ongoing daily operations. Mr. Pansegrau brings over 25 years of
operational expertise in the automotive sector, including medium
and heavy-duty vehicle components manufacturing, having most
recently served as Vice President of Operations for the Wheel End
Division at Accuride.
"2022 is set to be the biggest year yet for Lion, with major
projects underway, and Lion continues to remain on schedule to
begin production in the United
States in 2022. Our production from the Joliet plant will support the national demand
for zero-emission electric school buses, paratransit buses and
trucks ranging from Class 5 to Class 8," said Marc Bedard, CEO – Founder, Lion Electric. "I am
pleased to welcome Richard and Eric to the company, and we look
forward to continuing the build out and equipment installation in
Joliet throughout the year as we
prepare for production to come on-line."
About Lion Electric Company
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
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.
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