LION ELECTRIC JOINS VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS AND EPA ADMINISTRATOR MICHAEL REGAN IN OFFICIAL LAUNCH OF FEDERAL CLEAN SCHOOL BUS PROGRAM

Editorial Note: images available for download here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/mh8am6a67pvqgwi/AAAgL83rf_BJC42qemWZAPQxa?dl=0 

FALLS CHURCH, Va., May 23, 2022 /CNW Telbec/ - The Lion Electric Company (NYSE: LEV) (TSX: LEV) ("Lion" or the "Company"), a leading manufacturer of all-electric medium and heavy-duty vehicles, today joined Vice President Kamala Harris and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan at an event in Falls Church, Virginia for the official launch of the EPA's $5 billion Clean School Bus Program. The program is now accepting applications and will award up to $375,000 per zero-emission school bus, including the LionC, the most ordered and delivered electric school bus on the market.

"We are honored to have been invited by Vice President Harris and EPA Administrator Regan in Virginia today for the official launch of this ambitious program which will accelerate the adoption of zero-emission school buses, to the benefit of the health of our students," said Brian Piern, Chief Commercial Officer of Lion Electric. "With this $5 billion in funding the EPA is showing that zero-emission school buses are the future of student transportation, something we, at Lion, recognized when we began developing our all-electric buses over a decade ago. Lion's dedicated grants team is ready to assist customers in applying for and securing these funds, leaning on our expertise and strong track record of success."

As the leader in the zero-emission school bus market in the United States, Lion is at the forefront of the transition to clean student transportation that the Biden Administration and EPA are aiming to accelerate with the Clean School Bus Program. Lion is able to assist customers in securing this funding to deploy "made in America" buses to be built at its Joliet, Illinois manufacturing facility. This facility, which has a planned annual production capacity of up to 20,000 vehicles, will be the largest dedicated medium and heavy-duty electric vehicle manufacturing plant in the U.S. when production begins in the second half of 2022. Deploying zero-emission school buses brings healthier commutes to students while preventing exposure to hazardous particulate emissions from diesel engines, especially in underserved communities, which have historically had disproportionately poor air quality.

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. The first tranche of $500 million in funding will close on August 19, after which the EPA will distribute funds to deploy clean school buses around the country.

Under the Clean School Bus Program, priority districts can receive up to $375,000 per zero-emission bus, which can represent up to 100% of the cost of an all-electric school bus. Other eligible districts and qualifying operators 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. Up to $20,000 per bus in charging infrastructure funding is also available for EnergyStar certified charging stations, which LionEnergy can also help customers to secure and install.

Lion Electric designs its vehicles to be 100% electric from the ground up and put its first all-electric school buses on the road in 2016. To date, Lion has deployed over 600 vehicles with over 10 million miles driven, in real world operating conditions.

More information on how Lion can help districts apply for funding is available here: https://pages.thelionelectric.com/epa-clean-school-bus-program-phase-2-lp/ 

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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This press release "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Any statements contained in this MD&A 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. These forward-looking statements include statements regarding the Company's order book and the Company's ability to convert it into actual sales, the Company's long-term strategy and future growth, the Company's battery plant and innovation center project in Quebec and its U.S. manufacturing facility, and the expected launch of new models of electric vehicles. Such forward-looking statements are based on a number of estimates and assumptions that Lion believes are reasonable when made, including 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 center, that Lion will not suffer any further supply chain challenges or 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, 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 additional funding through equity or debt financing on terms acceptable to Lion when required in the future. 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 the following:  any adverse changes in U.S. or Canadian general economic, business, market, financial, political or legal conditions, including as consequences of the global COVID-19 pandemic and the emergence of COVID-19 variants, as well as varying vaccination rates amongst different countries; any adverse effects of the Russia-Ukraine war, which is increasingly affecting economic and global financial markets and exacerbating ongoing economic challenges, including issues such as rising inflation and global supply-chain disruption; any inability to successfully and economically manufacture and distribute its vehicles at scale and meet its customers' business needs; any inability to ramp-up the production of Lion's products and meet project construction and other project timelines; any inability to reduce total cost of ownership of electric vehicles sold by Lion over time; the reliance on key management and any inability to attract and/or retain key personnel; any inability to execute the Company's growth strategy; any unfavorable fluctuations and volatility in the price and availability of raw materials included in key components used to manufacture Lion's products; the reliance on key suppliers and any inability to maintain an uninterrupted supply of raw materials; labor shortages which may in the form of employee turnover, departures, and demands for higher wages which result in the Company having to operate at reduced capacity, lower production and deliveries, delayed growth plans, and could pose additional challenges related to employee compensation; any inability by Lion to meet user expectations related to, or other difficulties in providing, charging solutions to its customers; any inability to maintain the Company's competitive position; any inability to reduce its costs of supply over time; any inability to maintain and enhance the Company'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; any event or circumstance resulting in the Company's inability to convert its order book into actual sales, including the reduction, elimination or discriminatory application of government subsidies and economic incentives or the reduced need for such subsidies; any inability to secure adequate insurance coverage or a potential increase in insurance costs; natural disasters, epidemic or pandemic outbreaks, boycotts and geo-political events such as civil unrest and acts of terrorism, the current military conflict between Russia and Ukraine or similar disruptions; and 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 section 23.0 entitled "Risk Factors" of the Company's MD&A for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019 and in Item 3.D entitled "Risk Factors" of the Company's annual report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021. 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 this MD&A and in other documents filed with the applicable Canadian regulatory securities authorities and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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.

SOURCE Lion Electric

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