Last May, LION (formerly Lion Electric) was acquired by a group of Quebec-based investors after months of public financial struggle and reported product issues.

Now, the company shared what it called "the first concrete results of its turnaround and reaffirming its commitment to electric school transportation in Quebec."

LION Company Update

Over the past year, the company refocused its operations exclusively on electric school buses designed and assembled in Saint-Jérôme, a move aimed at anchoring LION within Quebec. After the new investors took over, they met with school bus operators. "We arrived following a period of turbulence, at a time when operators were — quite rightly — concerned," Luc Sabbatini, shareholder and chairman of the board at LION, siad. "We listened to them, and what they told us has guided every single one of our decisions."

Production at the Saint-Jérôme plant is now fully back in swing, the company said, with nearly 200 employees actively contributing to the recovery. Nearly 550 buses have been sold since last May, over a hundred of which have already been delivered. In addition, several clients have reserved buses for the next two years.

About 1,400 LION electric school buses are currently on the road in Quebec.

New Company Priorities

The operators its investors talked with were clear that the industry needs a bus that is safe, reliable, and easy to maintain. LION has built its relaunch strategy around these expectations, it said. The company said it's focused on continuous improvement of its buses.

LION also said that service operations have been redesigned to maximize bus uptime. LION entered into agreements with eight regional school bus operators — already users of its vehicles — enabling them to act as regional service centers for their respective territories, complete with trained mechanics and rapid access to parts. Additional agreements are under discussion to expand this network across Quebec.

The company is also offering training programs to operators' mechanics throughout the province. Since last summer, new technological tools have been made available to them.

"The initial results of our relaunch demonstrate that there is a real and sustainable market for electric school buses in Quebec," Sabbatini said, "The electrification of school transportation represents an opportunity to combine economic development, industrial innovation, and collective responsibility — and we are proud to make a tangible contribution to this effort. In the current geopolitical and commercial climate, establishing such industrial capacity within Quebec is not merely a competitive advantage; it is a strategic asset."

Editor's Note: This post is based on a press release in French. School Bus Fleet used Google Translate to view it in English and apologizes for any errors in translation.