The Lion Electric Co., a designer, manufacturer and distributor of all-electric medium and heavy-duty urban vehicles, says it intends to combine with Northern Genesis Acquisition Corp., a publicly traded special-purpose acquisition company.
Upon closing of the transaction, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lion will merge with and into Northern Genesis. The transaction is expected to bolster Lion’s position in all-electric medium- and heavy-duty urban vehicles by supporting the planned construction of a vehicle manufacturing facility in the U.S., the continued development of advanced battery systems, the planned construction of a highly automated battery system assembly factory and other general corporate purposes.
“This transaction marks an important milestone in Lion’s continued emergence in the design, manufacturing and distribution of purpose-built, all-electric medium- and heavy-duty urban vehicles,” says Marc Bedard, founder and CEO of Lion. “The business combination with Northern Genesis provides us with capital to fund Lion’s strategic initiatives, in addition to valuable expertise from Ian Robertson, Chris Jarratt and the Northern Genesis team.”
Founded in 2008, Lion is established in all-electric medium- and heavy-duty urban vehicles, with over 300 vehicles currently on the road and an operational track record of over 6 million miles driven. Lion offers seven purpose-built electric truck and bus models available for purchase today which are being delivered from its existing 2,500 vehicle per year manufacturing facility. With Lion buses on the road today and initial truck deliveries in process, Lion expects to quickly ramp up with 650 truck and bus deliveries planned for 2021. Over its coming four-year planning horizon, Lion has identified 6,000 potential vehicle sales, approximately 2/3 trucks and 1/3 buses; the marketing plan is supported by over 300 purchase orders in hand and a growing sales pipeline.
Bedard will continue as CEO of the combined company, overseeing the company’s strategic growth initiatives and expansion. He is joined by Lion’s existing executive team which includes Nicolas Brunet and Yannick Poulin. The combined company will have a board of directors consisting of nine directors.