In the jungle, the mighty jungleThere is a lead (and extensive) story on LEV and the EV schoolbus market in the Saturday 2023 02 18 Report on Business section of the Globe and Mail. For online access, a subscription is required.
Quebec’s Lion Electric Co. transforming an industry by cranking out electric school buses
A disrupter in an industry ripe for change, Lion founder Marc Bedard is trying to help save the environment and bolster the health of our children with EV transportation
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-lion-electric-ev-bus-battery/
Some extracts: On paper, Lion has everything it needs: a vision, demand, big-name backing, government support and willing lenders. Some analysts are bullish on the company, saying things are evolving in the right direction. Others, such as those at Veritas Investment Research, say Lion has consistently overpromised and under-delivered, and warn the company will struggle to capture market share.
............
Mr. Bedard’s task of turning orders into greater revenue – and actual profits – will require more capital at a time when the patience of many investors is running thin. Like many other EV makers, Lion is still losing money, with no forecast break-even date. The company’s stock has been in nearly constant decline since it went public in 2021, trading Friday around $3.33 on the Toronto Stock Exchange from a peak of about $25 some 20 months ago.
.......... In a market dominated by three major competitors, Lion has carved out a small but important niche for itself, says Mr. Shlisky, the D.A. Davidson analyst. “They’re very much a maturing EV company,” he said, noting Lion just rolled out its first autonomous vehicles on the factory floor to help move things around.
Lion can’t match the customer relationships and retail locations U.S. giant Blue Bird Corp. has forged over 90-plus years in business. And it doesn’t appear to have the financial firepower of Daimler Co. Ltd. subsidiary Thomas Built Buses or Navistar Inc.’s IC Bus.
But Mr. Bedard says Lion’s sales team always finds a willing audience for its product pitch: that the company designs and builds its EV buses from the ground up, while rivals are largely modifying their old diesel-powered vehicles. In a way, Lion wants to be the Tesla of the bus world – minus the drama enveloping that company’s CEO.