Lion Electric has produced its first electric LionC school bus in its US factory in Joliet, Illinois.
This marks the completion of the Canadian-based manufacturer’s first ‘Made in America’ electric school bus following the opening of its US facility earlier this year.
Eric Pansegrau, General Manager of Lion’s Joliet manufacturing facility said:Today is a significant milestone for Lion. On behalf of the entire management team, I want to extend my appreciation to all our employees for their passion and commitment over the past few months, as we went from an empty shell of a building here in Joliet, to manufacturing our first Made in America zero-emission school bus in roughly 18 months.
We are excited to now be entering the ramp-up phase of production, with an initial focus on the all-electric LionC school bus. We will spare no effort in the gradual scale-up of manufacturing, which we anticipate will be spread out over the next few quarters.
In producing this vehicle, Lion used its experience of manufacturing the LionC at its Saint-Jérôme site in Quebec over the past seven years.
This achievement comes at a time when the market demand for all-electric school buses in the US is increasing rapidly, accelerated by the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean School Bus Program.
In October this year, the EPA awarded funding for over 2,200 all-electric buses to nationwide school districts.
