Lion Electric scores new order and $100 million credit

Lion Electric has received an order for 35 LionC school buses from Canadian province Prince Edward Island. The manufacturer of all-electric medium and heavy-duty urban vehicles has also secured new US$100 million credit facility.

With the new order from Prince Edward Island, Canada’s small province off the west coast, the electric school buses will join the 12 LionC buses already in operation that have been servicing routes in the Charlottetown area since early 2021. Lion will also provide 35 Level 2 charging stations to Prince Edward Islan as it continues to build out the island’s electric vehicle infrastructure.

“I am really happy to be working with Lion Electric. They have supplied us with 47 buses over the past two years and their leadership has been pivotal as we work towards achieving our net-zero goals. As Islanders, we see the impact of climate change every day and recognize the importance of leading by example,” said the Minister of Education, Natalie Jameson.

Transitioning to electric school buses is a key part of the province’s larger Sustainable Transportation Action Plan, as Prince Edward Island moves eventually aims to electrify its 332-school bus fleet, along with decarbonising its transit bus operations. The Canadian government is investing more than $180 billion over 12 years in public transit projects along with green infrastructure, social infrastructure, trade and transportation routes, and Canada’s rural and northern communities. The purchase of the incoming 35 electric buses was partly funded by both the federal and provincial governments, who are contributing over $6.3 million to the clean school bus project.

For Lion Electric, this year has seen a massive influx of orders. This has included a huge order from Amazon for 2,500 all-electric Lion 6 and Lion 8 trucks by 2025, while efforts to decarbonise school buses in the USA brought in a number of orders. The demand for electric school buses in its home territory brought the company an order for 60 electric school buses from Autobus Séguin, a transportation operator headquartered in Quebec. In May, after selecting their new plant location in the USA and finalising an IPO, the company scored another large order of 260 LionC electric school buses to First Student based in Quebec.

With this kind of growth, it is not surprising that the company has just entered into a credit agreement in the maximum principal amount of $100 million US. The agreement is with a syndicate of lenders represented by National Bank of Canada as an administrative agent and includes the Bank of Montreal and Desjardins Capital Markets.

“While our recent transaction provided us access to the capital required to accelerate our growth strategy, this new credit facility will enable us to benefit from additional funds at an attractive rate, as needed, thus strengthening our liquidity position for the long-term,” said Marc Bedard, Lion’s CEO – Founder. “Our intent is to use it, as needed, for working capital, capital expenditure requirements and general corporate purposes”.

newswire.ca (school bus order), newswire.ca (capital agreement)