First Lion Electric School Bus in Joliet

 Noëllie Inard

Credit: www.chicagotribune.com 

On Wednesday, November 2nd, Lion Electric announced the end of the production of its first LionC zero-emission electric school bus at its Joliet factory. In May 2021, Lion Electric, a Canadian-based manufacturer of commercial vehicles, selected Joliet to hold its future US manufactory due to a growing demand for electric school buses in the United States. Lion Electric positioned itself to help school districts with the transition to electric buses with the help of the EPA Clean Bus Program which funded the project with $5 billion. The EPA Clean Bus Program is part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, a law that the Congress recently passed under President Joe Biden and which aimed to invest “ in [the] nation’s infrastructure and competitiveness,” according to the White House. The company’s efforts have paid off since they have now 700 electric vehicles on the road. 

    Lion Electric promised on January 2022 to have its new electric school bus ready by the end of the year and they kept their promise. “Today is a significant milestone for Lion,” stated the General Manager of Lion’s Joliet factory Eric Pansegrau when the first LionC electric school bus rolled off the line. “We will spare no effort in the gradual scale-up of manufacturing, which we anticipate will be spread out over the next few quarters,” continued Eric Pansegrau. Indeed, Lion Electric voiced its expectation for its Joliet factory to have an annual capacity of production of 20,000 electric buses and trucks while first focusing on the production of buses to respond to the high demand. According to Electrek, a news website focusing on the use of renewable sources, many cities and states have already committed to having electric school buses; New York,  among others, intends to electrify 100% of its school bus fleet by 2035.