Electric school bus maker is in peril, Illinois plant idled

Canadian electric school bus firm Lion Electric faces financial difficulties and is looking to be rescued, reports Bloomberg.

Lion on Sunday announced the layoff of 400 people, representing more than half of its workforce, and said it was suspending manufacturing at its U.S. factory in Joliet, Illinois. When the factory was announced in 2021, Lion said it would be the largest for medium-duty and heavy-duty electric vehicles in the U.S.

Lion is one of three companies—including Blue Bird and Thomas Built Buses—that have delivered the majority of U.S. electric school buses to date, amid a push to replace dirty diesel fleets spurred by state and federal incentives. 

Mach Capital, the investment arm of Canadian real estate developer Groupe Mach Inc., is in talks to provide additional funding to Lion, according to the report, citing an anonymous source familiar with the matter. In 2023, Groupe Mach and the Mirella & Lina Saputo Foundation were among a group of investors that bought more than $90 million (CAD).

The Canadian province of Quebec has also given Lion 192 million Canadian dollars. Economy minister Christine Frechette told Bloomberg and other media Monday that the provincial government was prepared to provide additional funding “if the business plan holds up, and if there are other players besides the public.”

Lion C Electric School Bus

Lion is one of a small group of manufacturers touting electric school buses as a replacement for diesel. In the U.S., that transition has accelerated recently with increased state and federal incentives. The EPA has begun distributing $5 billion in funding for electric school buses mandated under the Biden administration’s infrastructure law, awarding $965 million in 2022 and $1 billion earlier this year. But the future outlook isn’t so good.

While it has been assembling vehicles in the U.S., as a Canadian company Lion might be targeted by the incoming Trump administration, which is expected to place a 25% tariff on auto parts shipped across the border. It’s also unclear if Biden’s EV-friendly policies will survive under Trump. Both factors could make Lion’s electric school buses a lot more expensive for cash-strapped school districts.