No person ever says “that is enterprise” earlier than doing one thing good, and the just lately reborn Lion Electrical firm is holding that streak alive by doing the unthinkable to chop prices: they’re going to void the warranties on tons of of electrical faculty buses.
UPDATE 01NOV2025: two Lion Electrical buses caught hearth, now they’re in additional bother.
This previous summer time, the fallout from Lion Electrical’s dissolution reached a important mass, and the corporate’s new homeowners — the Quebec-based actual property giants Groupe MACH — determined to cancel the warranties on electrical faculty buses bought within the US, leaving many districts with unsafe or damaged down buses and no recourse to get their a refund whereas the model continued to take orders and earn money in Canada.
Now, it looks like even the Canadian fleets have some critical security considerations. Faculty Transportation Information and the CBC report that The Quebec Ministry of Schooling has ordered Lion faculty bus fashions be taken out of service instantly after a pair of LionC electrical buses caught hearth in Montreal, Quebec on Sept ninth, resulting in disruptions throughout the province and a renewed scrutiny of Lion bus security (Lion360 diesel-powered faculty buses, which Lion manufactured previous to solely producing electrical autos in 2017, have been additionally affected by the difficulty).
Lion Bus (the corporate’s new, official identify), has issued an inspection bulletin detailing a four-hour restore, which reads, “We’ve got recognized some potential anomalies in a sub-component of the HVAC system that Lion obtains from a third-party provider … within the curiosity of security above all else, we request that Lion bus operators carry out the next inspections and modifications: obligatory inspection of a number of low-voltage electrical connections, substitute of sure electrical connectors, exchange fan fuses with much less highly effective ones, including a fuse to an HVAC management panel circuit. This inspection and modification process have to be carried out on all Lion360 (diesel) and LionC third era and earlier buses (Gen3, Gen2 and Gen1).”
No phrase but on whether or not the difficulty impacts any of the few Lion Electrical buses nonetheless on US roads, however bear in mind: Lion Bus wouldn’t show you how to if it did.
You’ll be able to examine Lion’s determination to depart US faculty districts holding the bag on its troubled merchandise within the authentic July submit, under, then tell us how you’re feeling about Groupe MACH’s dealing with of the scenario within the feedback part on the backside of the web page.
The guarantee story
In a letter issued to exiting Lion Electrical prospects final week, Deloitte Restructuring introduced that the warranties on all Lion autos bought exterior of the corporate’s residence Province of Quebec are null and void – leaving dozens of faculty districts within the lurch with stranded property that gained’t get mounted, and may’t be bought to generate funds for replacements.
“We’re working with alternate distributors on the expense of the varsity district to assist maintain our electrical buses practical and on the highway,” explains Dr. Richard Decman, Superintendent of Herscher CUSD No. 2 district in Herscher, Illinois. “At the moment, six of our 25 (Lion) electrical buses want some kind of restore.”
Scholar Transportation Information studies that Lion buses symbolize absolutely half of Herscher’s general fleet of fifty buses, and that the district has acquired almost $10 million for the acquisition of 25 electrical buses and the associated charging stations from varied state and utility incentive applications.
Herscher isn’t the one district having issues with Lion buses. “All 4 Lion buses that we personal are at present parked and never getting used,” Coleen Souza, interim transportation director of Winthrop Public Colleges, advised Clear Trucking. “Two of them are in want of repairs which might value us cash which we aren’t prepared to spend money on as a result of the buses don’t run for greater than a month earlier than needing extra repairs.”
Extra of the identical in Maine, the place Yarmouth Faculty Division purchased two Lion Electrical buses in 2023 with the state masking the prices. In accordance with Superintendent Andrew Dolloff, the buses nearly by no means labored. “We’ve had some sporadic service over the previous two years, however as quickly because the tech leaves, the buses produce error codes once more,” defined Dolloff. ” and “Then the technician quits or is launched, and we wait just a few months for the subsequent response.”
Dolloff added that Yarmouth’s electrical buses didn’t function through the 2024-25 faculty 12 months.
Lion’s new homeowners are seemingly uninterested of their prospects’ plight – which may be simply dismissed if these new homeowners, Groupe MACH, weren’t additionally the previous homeowners of Lion Electrical.
That’s proper, youngsters. Quebec-based actual property firm Groupe MACH, which stepped in to “save” Lion Electrical earlier this summer time, together with Ontario-based Mirella & Lino Saputo Basis, purchased $90 million of fairness in Lion Electrical again in 2023. And, whereas the MACH individuals could not have been those who finally made the decision about voiding the warranties (that call was made by the Deloitte chapter crew), it’s completely Group MACH who’ve, thus far, not introduced plans to proceed to honor these warranties, both.
Make of that what you’ll.
Deloitte Lion letter
SOURCES: Faculty Transportation Information, Clear Trucking, Deloitte.
Should you’re contemplating going photo voltaic, it’s at all times a good suggestion to get quotes from just a few installers. To ensure you discover a trusted, dependable photo voltaic installer close to you that gives aggressive pricing, try EnergySage, a free service that makes it simple so that you can go photo voltaic. It has tons of of pre-vetted photo voltaic installers competing for your online business, guaranteeing you get high-quality options and save 20-30% in comparison with going it alone. Plus, it’s free to make use of, and also you gained’t get gross sales calls till you choose an installer and share your telephone quantity with them.
Your customized photo voltaic quotes are simple to match on-line and also you’ll get entry to unbiased Power Advisors that can assist you each step of the best way. Get began right here.
FTC: We use earnings incomes auto affiliate hyperlinks. Extra.
