JOLIET, ILL. — Lion Electric Co., a Canadian manufacturer of all-electric buses and trucks, has unveiled plans to build its first-ever U.S. manufacturing facility in Joliet. A minimum of $70 million will be invested to build a new facility dedicated to producing electric vehicles. The 900,000-square-foot project is expected to come online in the second half of 2022. Annual production capacity is estimated at 20,000 zero-emission vehicles per year, creating at least 745 jobs for Illinoisans. Lion is known for its production of electric school buses.
The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity worked with the state’s public-private economic development partner, Intersect Illinois, to put together a site selection process that involved both virtual and in-person site visits, economic analysis and coordination with local officials and utilities. Lion has qualified for the state’s EDGE incentive program, a tool to support companies making large-scale capital investments that lead to significant job creation.