The Lion Electric Co. (Lion) and Boivin Evolution (BEV) have been selected by the Department of General Services of the State of California for the medium and heavy duty zero emission & plug-in hybrid vehicle state contract. Lion was awarded the Lion8 Tractor and Lion/BEV were awarded the Lion8 Refuse Truck, and these vehicles will immediately be available for purchase by participating public agencies.

The term of the contract resulting from this bid will be two years. Any local governmental agencies can participate to this contract.

Nate Baguio, Lion’s vice president of sales, stated that “The Lion team would like to thank the Department of General Services for its work to date on clean transportation projects to help facilitate the advancement of zero-emission heavy-duty vehicle deployment throughout California. Lion is honored to have been awarded as part of this solicitation and looks forward to continuing to deliver quality products to rapidly grow California’s zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty fleet.”

BEV’s Vice President of Operations Frederic Proulx is “excited to offer an all-electric automated waste collection truck, a first in the industry. This technological breakthrough will transform the waste collection in California through better performance and a smaller ecological footprint.”

The Lion8 Tractor and Lion8 Refuse Trucks are available for order today. Both vehicles offer up to 250 miles (or 1,200 homes to collect trash) on a single charge, and the refuse truck does not use any hydraulic fluid or pumps, pipes, or hoses. All compaction and arm movements are powered by the battery that drives the electric motors directly installed on each function, making the vehicle quiet. Both offer up to 80% energy cost savings and 60% operational costs reduction, according to the company.