News
Lion inaugurates medium- and heavy-duty vehicle battery factory

April 25, 2023 – The Lion Electric Co.—a manufacturer of all-electric medium- and heavy-duty vehicles—has officially inaugurated its new lithium-ion battery manufacturing factory.

“This official opening celebrates the culmination of several years of efforts that now allow us to control the manufacturing and integration of one of the fundamental components in the production of electric vehicles and the electrification of transportation—namely the battery,” said Marc Bédard, Lion’s CEO and founder.

Located at the YMX International Aerocity of Mirabel, Que., the 175,000-sf facility will power electric vehicles assembled by Lion at its Saint-Jérôme, Que., and Joliet, Ill., manufacturing plants.

Following the completion of the installation of the initial portion of the battery assembly line in Mirabel, production of the first battery pack was completed at the end of 2022. Final certification of the first battery pack model is expected in the first half of 2023, followed by a gradual production ramp-up in 2023.

The first Lion batteries will serve to power the LionC and LionD school buses, and the Lion5 trucks.

“With this new facility, Lion will be able to strengthen its leadership role in the electrification of the transportation ecosystem in Canada and the United States,” Bédard added.

The new facility is targeted to reach a production capacity of 1.7 GWh by the end of the year. At full scale, it should have an annual production capacity of 5 GWh. This would enable Lion to electrify about 14,000 medium- and heavy-duty vehicles per year, says the company, depending on the vehicle mix.

Once the Quebec and Illinois factories are at full capacity, Lion expects to be able to manufacture 22,500 electric buses and trucks per year.