If you ever wondered who sells most all-electric school buses in North America, it turns out that it's Lion Electric Co. who sells the most.
Lion Electric - all-electric school bus
Lion and First Priority GreenFleet (its dealer in California, New York and New Jersey) together deployed more than 150 all-electric school buses in the last two years, with more than a million miles driven.
The recently accomplished largest deployment in North America’s history took place in California where approximately 40 eLion school buses were delivered to more than 15 districts over the past 12 months.
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According to the press release, that's more than all the other OEMs and dealers combined, so the market size must be no bigger than 80 units a year.
The eLion C bus is available with 50, 75 and 100 miles of range and capacity for 72 passengers. Batteries (up to 130 kWh) are supplied by LG Chem, while the electric motor comes from TM4. For charging, Lion Electric uses 19.2 kW on-board single-phase charger.
Soon, the company intends to introduce two more models: eLion A and eLion M, as well as specialty medium- to heavy-duty urban trucks (classes 5 to 8) - for example ambulances, service trucks, cranes or delivery trucks.
“We believe that electrifying school buses is the only environmental, social and economical solution that makes possible protecting our most precious capital, our children,” said Marc Bedard, Lion’s CEO and Founder. “We don’t pretend that electrifying school buses is an easy task because it isn’t. That’s why we spent the last eight years designing our vehicles and the past three years commercializing it. We are by far the only OEM with this kind of experience and track record.”
First Priority GreenFleet, Lion’s dealer in California, New York and New Jersey, has been a major player and key to the success of this process. “We are proud to partner with Lion and help electrify school transportation in California and the New York City metro area,” said Alex Cherepakhov, CEO of First Priority GreenFleet. “We are committed to providing our partners and end-users the most comprehensive set of clean transportation solutions and accompanying technologies supported by the largest independent commercial EV service organization in the country.”
The largest concentration of all-electric school buses is currently in California, where grants and funding options are readily available to help schools purchase Lion’s zero-emission vehicles.
“California air quality agencies currently offer funding options for local school districts looking to electrify their school bus fleets,” mentioned Nate Baguio, Lion’s Vice President of Sales located in California. “Lion is proud that our zero-emission buses are able to support the air quality goals that CARB, regional AQMD’s and California Energy Commission have set to improve the State’s air quality for the citizens of California. We are also thankful for our school district partners for leading the EV movement and are excited to continue assisting them in turning their school bus fleets into a zero-emission, healthy breathing environment for our children and communities.”
Lion is the only integrated OEM that makes its own chassis, battery packs and body. This allows them to use the best components, technologies and control the overall cost of their products; making it possible to offer the best vehicles at the best price.
In addition to distributing the , Lion will also introduce the and this summer, an electric minibus designed to meet school transportation, paratransit and transit requirements. The vehicle will be able to travel 75 to 150 miles and was designed to meet contractor’s demands. “It is very popular already and can be used in so many different ways that we’re calling it our ‘Swiss Army knife’,” summarized Mr. Bedard. It has been designed to integrate future intelligent systems (for example, autonomous driving). Everything we build, we build with the intention to anticipate the next 15 years.”
Lion will also start manufacturing a new complete line of all-electric trucks by the end of the current year, leveraging the technologies developed over the last eight years. We’re talking specifically about specialty medium- to heavy-duty urban trucks (classes 5 to 8). The vehicles can range from ambulances or service trucks, to cranes and delivery trucks.
Peter Rego, Lion’s Chief Commercial Officer USA, also shared that “we are excited to announce that we are now taking pre-orders for all Lion products. The vehicles demonstrate our commitment to cleaner air, a healthy population and overall quality of life, not only for us but also for our future generations. This will allow us to continue as the global leader in the electric bus and heavy vehicle space, and assist us on our journey to electrify the USA!”
