The North American electric truck market has a new entry as of today (March 11) with the introduction of the Lion8, a Canadian-made Class 8 vehicle that specializes in urban deliveries.
Produced by the Montreal, Canada-based Lion Electric Company, the Lion8 will be able to travel up to 250 miles on a single charge and handle payloads of 25,000 pounds, depending on the battery size.
“There are so many uses for it. Anything in the delivery space. A lot of people will put a dry box on it, or in the food industry, a refrigerated box on top of it,” said Lion Electric spokesperson Patrick Gervais. “It also could be a garbage truck.”
Lion envisions the truck primarily working within cities. Customers who get the largest battery package could potentially use Lion8 trucks on inter-city routes, Gervais said.
The Lion8 is also designed with cold temperatures in mind.
“We’ve put in a heating and cooling system for the batteries to make sure you lose no more than 10 percent in winter,” Gervais said.
The company plans to deliver the first Lion8 in September to Société des Alcools du Québec, the government-run alcohol distribution system in Quebec. The estimated price range is C$300,000-C$400,000. (A Canadian dollar currently is valued at US$0.75.)
Lion seeks to sell the Lion8 across Canada and the United States, particularly in California, with its extensive electric vehicle infrastructure.
The Lion8 adds to the company’s existing line of electric buses. The company has the capacity to sell 1,000 vehicles per year but hopes to grow that with demand.
Lion Electric also believes that it’s bringing a more mature electric truck to market. Freightliner is currently testing its eM2 Class 6-7 and eCascadia Class 8 electric trucks with Penske.
“Ours is not a pilot program,” Gervais sai