Lion Electric unveils EV charging partnership, Amazon battery-electric truck order
Lion Electric has partnered with ABB, a global provider of electric charging infrastructure, to offer Lion Energy customers electric vehicle (EV) supply charging equipment. The announcement was made on Sept. 22 during ACT Virtual, which is organized by the team that produces ACT Expo.
Lion Energy is part of The Lion Electric Company, a North America provider of Class 5 to 8 zero-emission heavy-duty vehicles. Lion's current all-electric truck offerings include straight trucks, tractors, reefers, buckets and refuse trucks.
Now, the company has introduced an end-to-end charging infrastructure solution in which Lion Energy can develop, design and install an area where fleets can park and charge their vehicles, noted Christopher Ralph, an energy specialist for Lion Electric. The ABB partnership will provide charging equipment for all of Lion’s electric vehicles and any electric vehicle on the market, he added.
“We can customize and project manage the solution from end to end,” Ralph said. “When I say customize, we know your vehicles. We know that they have different operational requirements and that they have different needs, different routes, different tasks, and they are all doing different things on a day-to-day basis.”
He added that Lion has a network of specialists throughout North America who can work with fleets on their EV charging projects. Lion currently has a total manufacturing capacity of producing 2,500 electric vehicles per year and has more than 6 million zero-emission miles driven, Ralph pointed out.
Amazon orders 10 Lion Electric trucks
In a separate announcement, Lion Electric said it will deliver 10 battery-electric trucks to Amazon, with the first two set for delivery this year. Amazon plans to use Lion's trucks in its middle-mile trucking operations, which transports items within the company's network.
The addition of these battery-electric trucks to Amazon's fleet aims to help the e-commerce giant deliver on its goal of decarbonizing its transportation operations in support of The Climate Pledge, Amazon’s commitment to be net-zero carbon across its business by 2040, 10 years ahead of the Paris Agreement.
"This vehicle delivery for Amazon represents a very significant milestone for Lion,” said Marc Bedard, CEO and founder of Lion. “Amazon is a leader in adopting decarbonizing technologies that can improve sustainability among their trucking fleet. Our all-electric trucks will be a valuable addition to Amazon's trucking operations as they work to deliver on their sustainability goals."
As part of the delivery, Lion will provide a one-time training to Amazon and the drivers who will operate the trucks upon delivery of the vehicles. Lion will also establish a maintenance program for the trucks, as part of Lion's expanding network of Experience Centers.
The trucks will be manufactured at Lion's Canadian facility. Lion is also planning to open a larger manufacturing facility in the U.S. in the foreseeable future to accommodate the significant growing demand for its electric vehicles in the U.S.
Over the last decade, Lion has also delivered more than 300 all-electric school buses in the U.S. and Canada.
"Designing and manufacturing all-electric vehicles is a challenging and lengthy process,” Bedard explained. “We've been at it for more than 10 years now; we know what works in practice, but also what only works on paper. We are in a unique position to disrupt the heavy-duty truck segment by offering an unmatched all-electric product, as we have already done in the school bus segment."
