3/9/22
The Lion Electric Company announced several key partnerships with truck upfitters to provide new fully electrified refrigerated, dry freight and aluminum stake body options for its Lion6 zero-emission urban truck. The new partnerships include equipment upfit options from industry leaders Morgan Truck Body, Thermo King, Knapheide and CM Truck Beds.
Several Lion6 vehicles are on display at Work Truck Week 2022, taking place March 8 – 11 in Indianapolis (Lion booth #2625), including:
- Lion6 Electrified Refrigerated Concept in partnership with Morgan Truck Body and Thermo King (Morgan booth #4949)
- Lion6 Aluminum Platform Body 18-foot with Storage Pack in partnership with Knapheide (Lion booth #2625)
- Lion6 Aluminum Platform Body (26-foot) in partnership with CM Truck Beds (CM booth #5159)
Additionally, Work Truck Week attendees will have the opportunity to experience an all-electric lightweight and aerodynamic Lion6 Dry Freight Truck Body in partnership with Morgan Truck Body, which will be available for test drives at the Work Truck Week Ride & Drive, taking place March 9 and 10, 11:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
“The wide variety of upfit components we are debuting at this year’s Work Truck Week is proof that electrification has arrived for a broad range of truck fleet customers, from dry cargo fleets to those with temperature-sensitive requirements. We are pleased to be working in close collaboration with four industry leaders as we continue to move toward a zero-emission future in trucking, and look forward to continuing to introduce new applications to our highly flexible class 5 to class 8 chassis vehicles,” said Brian Piern, Chief Commercial Officer of Lion Electric.
A Versatile and Sustainable Urban Truck Chassis
The Lion6 is a class 6 zero-emission urban truck built on the experience Lion has gained from putting over 550 heavy-duty all-electric vehicles on the road, which have covered over 9 million miles to date. Offering 200 miles of range on a single charge, the Lion6 is designed and built to be 100% electric from the ground up, with none of the engineering compromises and waste inherent to platforms retrofitted from traditional internal combustion engine designs.
The Lion6 also benefits from Lion’s proprietary battery management system (BMS) and battery thermal management system (BTMS), which keep battery temperatures in the ideal operating range. The result is optimal performance in extremely hot and cold environments with minimal impact on range, as has been proven by Lion truck customers currently operating in harsh conditions in some of the coldest regions of both the US and Canada.
Now this battery technology can be leveraged not only for propulsion, but to simultaneously power a vehicle refrigeration unit as well – as demonstrated by the electrified refrigerated concept truck body at Work Truck Week by Morgan Truck Body. Mounted on a Lion6 chassis and utilizing a Thermo King all-electric refrigerated unit, the concept also features a 24-foot truck body that is seamlessly integrated with Lion Electric’s vehicle systems and powered by the vehicle’s onboard batteries – eliminating emissions and noise pollution caused by diesel refrigeration units.
With new stake bed upfit options in addition to dry freight bodies, the technology of the Lion6 can be leveraged for a wide variety of vocations. Lion’s new partnership with Knapheide brings work fleets the option of an electrified lightweight aluminum 18-foot platform stake body, which also features an enclosed storage pack behind the truck cab to secure work equipment. Lion also debuted a larger stake upfit option for the Lion6 with a new 26-foot aluminum platform body in partnership with CM Truck Beds. Additionally, an innovative dry freight body from Morgan Truck Body was shown at Work Truck Week, leveraging lightweight materials for improved payload and innovative aerodynamic features such as side skirts to maximize range.
These new upfit equipment options make the Lion6 the perfect zero-emission solution for the final stage of delivery, with all of the advantages electric trucks have to offer – including an advantageous total cost of ownership in comparison to internal combustion engine vehicles. Adopting electric trucks can create significant savings for operators, thanks to lower maintenance requirements and reduced energy costs. With fewer moving parts and preventative maintenance items such as lubricants, filters, belts and more, Lion trucks offer maintenance savings of up to 60% and energy savings of up to 80%.
Quotes
“Morgan’s collaboration with Lion Electric on our new refrigerated concept body demonstrates our commitment to providing innovative EV upfit solutions. We are firmly focused on providing best in class solutions to our customers as they transition to a zero-emission future," Tom Diez, Vice President Sales and Marketing at Morgan Truck Body.
“Thermo King is committed to delivering our customers a fully electrified portfolio of transportation solutions for every segment of the cold chain by 2025. Partnering with respected industry leaders and technology innovators will help to further ensure that our new line of electrified products maintain the same level of quality, reliability and performance our customers expect from Thermo King,” Chris Tanaka, Vice President of Product Management, Thermo King Americas.
“Knapheide’s Aluminum Platform is a perfect upfit on the Lion6 zero emission truck for a variety of last-mile delivery uses. We are looking forward to collaborating with Lion and their customers to meet their vocation needs and objectives in the future," Mandar D. Dighe, Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Knapheide
“CM Truck Beds is committed to the ever-changing dynamics of the work truck space. As North America’s number one manufacturer of aluminum bodies, our products are positioned well in the EV segment as we focus on added payload and increased towing capacity. Our business is focused to environmentally safe manufacturing processes and designing products for the zero-emissions transportation segment. As our industry continues to change, we will stand prepared to meet the needs of final destination fleets who desire to maximize distance in their fleet operations while transporting goods,” Joe Lewis, Vice President of ATW Truck Equipment, the business unit of ATW that includes CM Truck Beds.