Lion Electric Company

LION (previously Lion Electric Company/La Compagnie Électrique Lion) is a Canadian electric vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Saint-Jérôme, Quebec.[2] Founded in 2011 as Lion Bus (Autobus Lion), the company is primarily known for its production of yellow school buses, of which it was the first to mass produce as a fully electric vehicle.

The company was renamed LION in the summer of 2025, following its emergence from creditor protection and bankruptcy and its purchase by a group of investors.[3] During the early 2020s, the company also developed multiple product lines, including electrified transit buses and commercial truck chassis and semitractors.

Since its founding, the company has assembled vehicles at its facility in Saint-Jérôme, Quebec; the company also produced buses in Joliet, Illinois from 2023 to 2024.

History

Autobus Lion (2011–2017)

The first school bus manufacturer founded in North America in the 21st century, Autobus Lion/Lion Bus is also the first manufacturer of full-size school buses in Canada since the closure of Les Enterprises Michel Corbeil in 2007.

Products

Lion 360°

Launched in 2011, the Lion Bus 360° is a cowled-chassis (conventional) bus sold as either a school bus, MFSAB (activity bus), or a commercial-use bus. As with the Blue Bird Vision, the 360 does not use a chassis and hood of a production medium-duty truck, instead having a proprietary chassis developed for the bus by Spartan Chassis (a subsidiary of Spartan Motors, former parent company of Carpenter). Though few body configurations were initially offered (to streamline production), the 360 was offered with options such as wheelchair lifts or underfloor luggage compartments.

In its development, several features of the 360 focused on lengthening the service life of school buses. In the interest of corrosion resistance, the body does not use steel exterior panels, consisting of composite body panels, with the lower bodywork using TPO Thermoplastic olefin panels.[23] In a break from school bus design precedent, the 360 is produced with a 102-inch wide body (rather than 96 inches); the change was intended for either wider center aisles or to better accommodate 3-point seatbelts.[24]

In May 2015, Lion unveiled a CNG-fueled variant of the 360, becoming the first manufacturer to produce a Type C school bus powered by a CNG-fueled engine, a NGV Motori version of the International DT466 engine.[25] It is unclear how many were produced.

Lion eLion (LionC)

Launched in 2015, the eLion is a fully electric vehicle, sharing its body and Spartan chassis with the 360. In place of the Cummins diesel, a 250 KiloWatt TM4 SUMO MD electric motor is used along with LG lithium-ion batteries.[23] The eLion is externally distinguished from the 360 by its colored bumpers, which are either painted blue or green.[23]

LionM/LionA/LionD

Launched in 2018,[26][27] the LionM (originally the eLionM[26]) is a low-floor midibus/minibus produced in a 26-foot length. Offering kneeling and an integrated wheelchair ramp, the LionM was developed for transit, paratransit, and shuttle applications.[26][28] The LionA is a Type A school bus, adopting the axle configuration of a much larger Type D bus. with a larger school bus called LionD.[29]

The LionM and LionA are equipped with either one or two 80 kWh LG Chem lithium-ion battery packs mounted below the floor, allowing for either a 75-mile or 150-mile driving range.[26]

Lion8

Introduced in March 2019,[30] the Lion8 is a Class 8 fully electric truck, produced in a cabover configuration. Developed primarily for urban and vocational use, the Lion8 currently has a range of 250 miles.[30] It is equipped with a 470 hp TM4 SUMO HD electric motor and a 480 kWh battery.[31]

native name	La Compagnie Électrique Lion
native name lang	fr
former name	Autobus Lion
traded as	nyse: LEV (formerly) tsx: LEV (formerly) otcqx: LEVGQ
area served	Canada
key people	Marc Bédard and Camile Chartrand
industry	Commercial vehicles
products	Buses and trucks
production	852 (2023)‡R1R‡
services	Bus and truck manufacturing
revenue	US$253.5 million (2023) ‡R1R‡
operating income	US$-114.0 million (2023)‡R1R‡
net income	US$-103.7 million (2023) ‡R1R‡
assets	US$841.1 million (2023) ‡R1R‡
equity	US$358.9 million (2023) ‡R1R‡
owner	Marc Bédard and Camile Chartrand
num employees	1,400 (2023) ‡R1R‡
foundation	2011
location city	Saint-Jérôme, Quebec
location country	Canada
homepage	www.thelionelectric.com

Lion Electric Company

History

Autobus Lion (2011–2017)

La Compagnie Électrique Lion (2017–2024)

LION (2025–present)

Products

Lion 360°

Lion eLion (LionC)

LionM/LionA/LionD

Lion8

See also

External links

References