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(Reuters) - Canadian electric vehicle company Lion Electric on Friday said it had selected Illinois as the location for its new U.S. manufacturing plant, promising to invest at least $70 million and create about 750 jobs over the next three years.
Lion, known for its electric yellow school buses, said it will build the 900,000 square foot facility in Joliet near Chicago to produce 20,000 electric buses and medium and heavy-duty trucks per year.
The company said it expected the facility to come online in the second half of 2022. Lion Chief Executive Marc Bedard said in an interview that while the Illinois factory would focus on vehicle manufacturing initially, the company might later add battery production. Lion is building a battery production facility in Canada.
UpdatedFri, May 7, 2021 at 12:45 pm CT
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Gov. J.B. Pritzker, second from right, speaks at the opening of the Lion Electric plant. Also pictured are Joliet Mayor Bob O Dekirk (left), Congressman Bill Foster (D-11) and Will County Center for Economic Development Vice President Doug Pryor (right). (John Ferak/Patch)
(John Ferak/Patch )
(John Ferak/Patch )
JOLIET, IL Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker came to Joliet at 7:30 a.m. Friday to reveal positive economic development news:
Lion Electric, a Canadian company in Quebec, will open its first United States automobile manufacturing plant in Joliet.
Long-term, Lion Electric plans to hire around 1,400 people to make electric automobiles at the Youngs Road facility in Joliet, several sources told Joliet Patch. Officials said the plant will be the largest electric vehicle manufacturer in the United States for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles.
Canada s Lion Electric to build electric school buses in Illinois autoblog.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from autoblog.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.