Lion Electric files for credit protection and aims to focus on electric school bus production

Quebec-based manufacturer of electric buses and trucks Lion Electric filed for creditor protection on December 18, 2024, with debts exceeding $411 million. Now, while seeking a buyer or investors to avoid liquidation (deadline: 14th February), the company is planning to cease production of electric trucks and focus solely on the electric school bus market, aiming to produce 550 units annually, as reported on French trade media Car et Bus News.

The crisis of Lion Electric

As of December 2024, Marie-Ève Labranche, a Lion spokesperson, was quoted by Canadian public broadcasting CBC News as saying: “Lion is not being liquidated, but is rather undertaking various restructuring measures, including a sale and investment solicitation process”.

Looking at the segment, the electrification of school buses in the United States is rapidly accelerating, with over 13,759 electric school buses committed by 1,572 school districts and fleet operators (4,500 in 2024 only), according to data from the Electric School Bus Data Dashboard available on the website of the WRI-backed Electric School Bus Initiative.

Still according to data from the initiative, as of end 2023 Lion Electric had over 1,600 electric school buses delivered in the USA, plus nearly 1,800 commissioned vehicles.

The company has received significant subsidies from the Quebec and Canadian governments and holds 33% of the North American electric school bus market. Focusing on school buses only would mean reducing production by a factor of 5 and repatriating all manufacturing to Quebec, writes Car et Bus News.

Already in late 2023 Lion Electric announced a layoff of 10% of its workforce. Trade media Ttnews noticed, at that time, that “The company posted a net loss of $19.9 million in the third quarter of 2023, compared with a net loss of $17.2 million in the same period a year earlier”.