Lion Electric Company

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. Lion Bus was created in 2008 by former Corbeil executives Marc Bédard and Camile Chartrand (serving as Lion President and retired COO, respectively).{{cite web|url=http://www.lionbuses.com/en/team |title=Autobus Lion |accessdate=2012-04-26 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120325193706/http://www.lionbuses.com/en/team |archivedate=2012-03-25 }}

In 2011, the company introduced its first bus, the Lion 360°, a cowled-chassis (conventional style) school bus, produced in a partnership with Spartan Chassis, Inc.{{Cite web|url=http://www.stnonline.com/home/top-stories/3452-lion-bus-to-bring-new-type-c-to-market |title=Lion Bus to Bring New Type C Conventional to Market |date=2014-01-06 |access-date=2016-04-07 |url-status=unfit |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140106040219/http://www.stnonline.com/home/top-stories/3452-lion-bus-to-bring-new-type-c-to-market |archivedate=January 6, 2014 }} In contrast to other manufacturers of full-size buses, the 360 was offered by itself, to streamline production costs.

In June 2017, Lion Bus rebranded itself as the Lion Electric Company.{{Cite web|url=https://thelionelectric.com/en/articles/the_lion_electric_co?|title=New - The Lion Electric Co.|website=thelionelectric.com|language=en|access-date=2019-04-04}} As part of the transition, the company announced the development of a second bus design, a flat-floor fully electric minibus for school and transit applications (later unveiled as the LionM and LionA, respectively).{{Cite web|url=http://stnonline.com/news/latest-news/item/9511-lion-electric-reveals-all-electric-midi-minibus-at-movin-on-event|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180604051813/http://stnonline.com/news/latest-news/item/9511-lion-electric-reveals-all-electric-midi-minibus-at-movin-on-event|url-status=dead|archive-date=2018-06-04|title=Lion Electric Reveals All-Electric Midi/Minibus|date=2018-06-04|access-date=2019-04-04}} In addition, Lion announced the development of Class 5-8 fully electric trucks, with a planned launch in fall 2018.

In November 2017, Power Energy (a wholly owned subsidiary of Power Corporation Canada), announced a major investment in Lion Electric.{{Cite web|url=https://thelionelectric.com/documents/en/Pressrelease.pdf|title=The Lion Electric Company announces a strategic investment by Power Energy Corporation, a subsidiary of Power Corporation of Canada|website=The Lion Electric Company}} In the summer of 2018, the company established a base of operations in central California.{{Cite web|url=https://businessfacilities.com/2017/02/north-americas-first-electric-school-bus-unveiled-in-palo-alto/|title=North America's First Electric School Bus Unveiled In Palo Alto|last=Staff|first=B. F.|date=2017-02-01|website=Business Facilities - Area Economic Development, Site Selection & Workforce Solutions|language=en-US|access-date=2019-04-04}}

In 2021, Lion announced a new manufacturing facility in Joliet, Illinois to produce its electric buses and trucks, and became a public company by merging with a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC).{{Cite web|title=Canada's Lion Electric says it will build new plant in Illinois, create 750 jobs|last=Bellon|first=Tina|url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/canadas-lion-electric-says-build-124529051.html|date=2021-05-07|access-date=2021-05-10 |website=finance.yahoo.com |language=en-US}} In May 2021, Lion received an order from First Student for 260 electric buses, its largest order at that point.{{Cite web|first=Kailas |last=Salunkhe |title=Lion Electric Jumps 6% Pre-Market After Receiving Order for 260 Buses |url=https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/lion-electric-jumps-6-pre-market-after-receiving-order-for-260-buses-2021-05-17|access-date=2021-05-18|website=www.nasdaq.com|language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210518172624if_/https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/lion-electric-jumps-6-pre-market-after-receiving-order-for-260-buses-2021-05-17 |archive-date=2021-05-18|url-status=live}}

The company stated in December 2024 that it was entering creditor protection in Canada and Chapter 15 bankruptcy in the US, as it defaulted on its debt; Lion laid off 920 employees during the year, including a temporary layoff of 400 employees at the Illinois plant.{{Cite web|first=Antoni |last=Nerestant |title=After major layoffs, Quebec's Lion Electric to enter creditor protection |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/lion-electric-creditor-protection-layoffs-1.7412323 |access-date=2024-12-17 |website=www.cbc.com|language=en }}{{Cite web|title=Lion Electric to file for creditor protection |url=https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/lion-electric-to-file-for-creditor-protection-1.7148223 |access-date=2024-12-17 |website=www.ctvnews.ca|language=en }}

{{Infobox automobile

| name = Lion 360
eLion

| type = Bus

| manufacturer = Autobus Lion (2011-2017)
La Compagnie Électrique Lion (2017-present)

| aka =

| production = 2011-present

| assembly = Saint-Jérôme, Québec

| platform = Spartan Front Engine

| chassis = Cowled chassis (conventional-style)

| layout = FR layout, 4x2

| engine = Cummins 6.7L ISB6.7 diesel I6
NGV Motori 7.6L DT466 CNG I6

| motor = TM4 SUMO MD

| powerout = {{convert|250|kW|hp|0|abbr=on}}

| drivetrain =

| battery = Lithium-ion

| range =

| electric_range = {{convert|100|mi|km|0|abbr=on}}

| charging = SAEJ1772

| wheelbase = {{convert|254|in|mm|0|abbr=on}}
{{convert|276|in|mm|0|abbr=on}}

| width = {{convert|101.5|in|mm|0|abbr=on}}

| height = {{convert|124|in|mm|0|abbr=on}}

}}

File:Lionc.jpg

File:LIONM.jpg

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.{{Cite web

| title = Technical Specifications: eLion

| url = https://thelionelectric.com/pdfs/specifications-elion-en.pdf

| date = 2017-06-19

| access-date = 2024-08-12

}} 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.{{Cite web|url=http://www.schoolbusfleet.com/Channel/Management-Training/news/2011/06/17/New-entry-in-large-school-bus-market.aspx|title = New entry in large school bus market}}

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.{{Cite web|url=http://ngvus.com/ngvmotori/?p=14074|title=Lion Bus and NGV Motori Unveil America's First OEM CNG Type C School Bus|last=ngvmotori|date=2015-05-07|website=NGV Motori USA|language=en-US|access-date=2019-04-04}} It is unclear how many were produced.

File:LionC_all-electric_school_bus_07.tif

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. The eLion is externally distinguished from the 360 by its colored bumpers, which are either painted blue or green. Since they are electric, they do not make engine sounds, so when they travel below 15mph they play a sound is similar, if not the same as the door closing sound of the Montreal Metro.{{Cite web |last=Nick-Anand |date=2024-01-24 |title=San Francisco school using the Montreal metro sound |url=http://www.reddit.com/r/transit/comments/19e765p/san_francisco_school_using_the_montreal_metro/ |access-date=2024-04-03 |website=r/transit}}

Launched in 2018,{{Cite web|url=https://insideevs.com/lion-electric-introduces-elionm-electric-midi-minibus/|title=Lion Electric Introduces eLionM Electric Midi/Minibus|date=2018-06-19|website=Inside EVs|language=en-US|access-date=2019-04-04}}{{Cite web|url=https://thelionelectric.com/documents/en/pressreleaseMO.pdf|title=The Lion Electric Co. revealed its all-electric midi/minibus at the Movin'On event|website=Lion Electric Company}} the LionM (originally the eLionM) 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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.electrive.com/2018/05/31/lion-electric-launches-first-electric-minibus-for-paratransit/|title=Lion Electric launches electric minibus for paratransit|date=2018-05-31|website=electrive.com|language=en-US|access-date=2019-04-04}} 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.{{Cite web|url=https://thelionelectric.com/documents/en/BrochureANGLionA.pdf|title=LionA Brochure (en)|website=Lion Electric Company}}

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. Alongside a 19.2 kW J1777 charger, DC fast-charging is an option, along with battery swapping.

Introduced in March 2019,{{Cite web|url=http://www.truckinginfo.com/327490/lion-unveils-urban-class-8-electric-truck|title=Lion Unveils Urban Class 8 Electric Truck|last=Roberts|first=Jack|website=www.truckinginfo.com|access-date=2019-04-04}} 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. It is equipped with a {{Convert|470|hp|kW|abbr=on}} TM4 SUMO HD electric motor and a 480 kWh battery.{{Cite web|url=https://thelionelectric.com/documents/en/Lion8_onepager.pdf|title=Lion8 Technical Specifications|website=Lion Electric Company}}

{{Portal|Buses}}

• School bus
• Spartan Motors - chassis supplier

{{reflist}}

• [https://thelionelectric.com/en/ Lion Electric Company website (English)]
• [http://www.spartanchassis.com/specialty/frontenginebus.asp Spartan Motors Lion Bus Chassis Specifications ]

{{Automotive industry in Canada}}

{{North American bus builders}}

{{North American School Bus Manufacturers}}

{{Insolvent EV companies}}

Category:School bus manufacturers

Category:Bus manufacturers of Canada

Category:Saint-Jérôme

Category:Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 2011

Category:Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Quebec

Category:Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange

Category:Companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange

Category:Companies that have filed for bankruptcy in Canada

Category:Companies that have filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy