JOLIET, Ill., April 28, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Lion Electric Company (NYSE: LEV) (TSX: LEV) ("Lion" or the "Company"), a leading manufacturer of all-electric medium and heavy-duty vehicles, today announced that the company is preparing to assist customers in securing funding under the first $500 million tranche of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency  ("EPA")'s $5 billion Clean School Bus Program.

As part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the U.S. Federal Government has dedicated $5 billion in funding to deploy zero-emission and clean school buses over the next five years, which will help to bring healthy commutes to students around the country, especially in underserved communities which have historically had disproportionately poor air quality. School districts will also benefit from the reduced energy and maintenance costs that all-electric school buses have to offer.

Details of the program were recently announced, and priority districts can receive up to $375,000 per bus in funding, which can represent up to 100% of an all-electric school bus price, while other eligible districts can receive up to $250,000 per bus, thus largely aligning the price of an electric bus to that of a conventional internal combustion engine vehicle. EnergyStar certified charging infrastructure is also eligible for funding, which LionEnergy can also help customers to secure and install. A list of priority districts will be released by the EPA in early May.

"As the leader in all-electric school buses, Lion is in a fantastic position to help customers secure this new EPA funding for both all-electric school buses as well as charging infrastructure, which in some cases will fund the entire purchase of a new zero-emission Lion school bus," said Marc Bedard, CEO – Founder of Lion Electric. "Lion put its first electric school buses on the road in the U.S. in 2016, which have since been driven in real world operating conditions. We are clearly an early mover in the space and, with our planned capacity of 20,000 vehicles per year at our Illinois manufacturing facility, are ideally positioned to put made in America electric school buses on the road at scale. This federal program is a major step in transitioning to sustainable school transportation, bringing significant improvements to the health of our children and communities. We applaud the EPA for their commitment to deploy all-electric school buses."

Through its LionGrants team of funding experts and as an eligible contractor under the program, Lion can apply on behalf of school districts and private fleets, as well as assist them with their own direct applications. Organizations which can benefit from rebates under the program include state and local government entities which provide school bus services, for-profit and non-profit school bus contractors that meet eligibility requirements, non-profit school transportation associations, tribes, tribal schools and tribal organizations.

The first $500 million in this funding will be awarded this year, with applications expected to be open for a period of 90 days beginning in May. Awardees will then be determined by a lottery system.

Additionally, the LionGrants team is currently actively tracking billions of dollars in available funding across North America and can assist customers in applying to a wide variety of state, municipal, utility and air district funding. Lion Electric is the leader in zero-emission school buses, with more than 550 vehicles on the road and 9 million miles driven.

About Lion Electric
Lion Electric is an innovative manufacturer of zero-emission vehicles. The company creates, designs and manufactures all-electric class 5 to class 8 commercial urban trucks and all-electric buses and minibuses for the school, paratransit and mass transit segments. Lion is a North American leader in electric transportation and designs, builds and assembles many of its vehicles' components, including chassis, battery packs, truck cabins and bus bodies.

Always actively seeking new and reliable technologies, Lion vehicles have unique features that are specifically adapted to its users and their everyday needs. Lion believes that transitioning to all-electric vehicles will lead to major improvements in our society, environment and overall quality of life. Lion shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange and the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol LEV.

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CAUTION REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Any statements contained in this press release that are not statements of historical fact, including statements about Lion's beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements and should be evaluated as such. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words such as "believe," "may," "will," "continue," "anticipate," "intend," "expect," "should," "would," "could," "plan," "project," "potential," "seem," "seek," "future," "target" or other similar expressions and any other statements that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters, although not all forward-looking statements contain such identifying words.

The Company made a number of economic, market and operational assumptions in preparing and making certain forward-looking statements contained in this press release including, but not limited to, that Lion will be able to retain and hire key personnel and maintain relationships with customers, suppliers and other business partners, that Lion will continue to operate its business in the normal course, that Lion will be able to implement its growth strategy, that Lion will be able to successfully and timely complete the construction of its U.S. manufacturing facility and its Quebec battery plant and innovation centre, that Lion will not suffer any material disruption in the supply of raw materials on competitive terms, that Lion will be able to maintain its competitive position, that Lion will continue to improve its operational, financial and other internal controls and systems to manage its growth and size and that its results of operations and financial condition will not be adversely affected, that Lion will be able to benefit, either directly or indirectly (including through its clients), from government subsidies and economic incentives in the future and that Lion will be able to secure any required additional funding through equity or debt financing on terms acceptable to Lion. Such estimates and assumptions are made by Lion in light of the experience of management and their perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors believed to be appropriate and reasonable in the circumstances. However, there can be no assurance that such estimates and assumptions will prove to be correct.

By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the future. Lion believes that these risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the following: any adverse changes in the U.S. and Canadian general economic, business, market, financial, political and legal conditions, including as consequences of the global COVID-19 pandemic and the emergence of COVID-19 variants and varying rates of vaccination amongst various countries; Lion's inability to successfully and economically manufacture and distribute its vehicles at scale and meet its customers' business needs; Lion's reliance on key management and any inability to attract and/or retain key personnel; Lion's inability to execute its growth strategy; Any unfavourable fluctuations and volatility in the price of raw materials included in key components used to manufacture Lion's products; Lion's reliance on key suppliers and any inability to maintain an uninterrupted supply of raw materials; Lion's inability to maintain its competitive position; Lion's inability to reduce its costs of supply over time; any inability to maintain and enhance Lion's reputation and brand; any significant product repair and/or replacement due to product warranty claims or product recalls; any failure of information technology systems or any cybersecurity and data privacy breaches or incidents; the reduction, elimination or discriminatory application of government subsidies and economic incentives or the reduced need for such subsidies; natural disasters, epidemic or pandemic outbreaks, boycotts and geo-political events; the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against the Company from time to time.  

These and other risks and uncertainties related to the businesses of Lion are described in greater detail in the section entitled "Risk Factors" not related to an investment in the Company's final prospectus dated May 5, 2021 (the "Canadian Prospectus") filed with the Autorité des marchés financiers (the "AMF") and the registration statement on Form F-1 (the "Registration Statement") filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") and declared effective on June 14, 2021 and other documents publicly filed with the AMF and the SEC. Many of these risks are beyond Lion's management's ability to control or predict. All forward-looking statements attributable to Lion or persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained, and risk factors identified, in the Canadian Prospectus, the Registration Statement and other documents filed with the AMF and the SEC.    

Because of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, readers should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Furthermore, forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Except as required under applicable securities laws, Lion undertakes no obligation, and expressly disclaims any duty, to update, revise or review any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

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SOURCE Lion Electric