Lion Electric

Lion Electric was a Montreal-based manufacturer of zero-emission school buses and medium/heavy-duty trucks. Unlike many EV SPACs, Lion had real products — it had been building electric school buses since 2017 and had delivered vehicles to school districts across North America.

The company merged with Northern Genesis Acquisition Corp in May 2021, using proceeds to build a new battery plant and scale production. The timing seemed favorable: the Biden administration was pushing for EV adoption in government fleets, and school bus electrification programs were gaining momentum.

But Lion struggled with the same fundamental challenge facing many EV startups: the cost of batteries made each vehicle unprofitable at current production volumes, and scaling up required capital that the company was rapidly depleting. The new battery plant added costs without immediately reducing per-unit expenses.

Supply chain disruptions, high interest rates, and slower-than-expected fleet electrification decisions by municipalities all contributed to the decline. Revenue grew but never fast enough to offset cash burn. By December 2024, Lion Electric filed for creditor protection and eventually entered bankruptcy proceedings, ending another chapter in the EV SPAC saga.