Lion Electric Co (LEV) 2023 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and a warm welcome to the Lion Electric First Quarter 202 Results Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference call is being recorded.

女士們先生們，早上好，熱烈歡迎 Lion Electric 第一季度 202 業績電話會議。 （操作員說明）作為提醒，正在錄製此電話會議。

I would now like to turn the conference call over to Isabelle Adjahi, Vice President of Investor Relations and Sustainable Development. Please go ahead, Ms. Adjahi.

我現在想將電話會議轉交給投資者關係和可持續發展副總裁 Isabelle Adjahi。 Adjahi 女士，請繼續。

Good morning, everyone. Welcome to Lions First Quarter 2023 Results Conference Call. (foreign language) Today, I'm here with Marc Bedard, our CEO and Founder; and Nicolas Brunet, our EVP and CFO.

大家，早安。歡迎來到獅子會 2023 年第一季度業績電話會議。 （外語）今天，我和我們的首席執行官兼創始人馬克·貝達德 (Marc Bedard) 一起來到這裡；和我們的執行副總裁兼首席財務官 Nicolas Brunet。

Please note that our discussion may include estimates and other forward-looking information and that our actual results could differ materially from those implied in any such statements. We invite you to review the cautionary language in this morning's press release and in our MD&A, which contains important information regarding various factors, assumptions and risks that could impact our actual results.

請注意，我們的討論可能包括估計和其他前瞻性信息，我們的實際結果可能與任何此類聲明中暗示的結果存在重大差異。我們邀請您查看今天上午的新聞稿和我們的 MD&A 中的警示性語言，其中包含有關可能影響我們實際結果的各種因素、假設和風險的重要信息。

With that, let me turn it over to Marc to begin. Marc?

有了這個，讓我把它交給馬克開始。馬克？

Thank you, Isabelle. Good morning, everyone. We are pleased to share with you today our Q1 results and to report that Lion is showing great progress, setting a strong foundation to execute our plan. There are three main items we will be talking about today. Number one, we continued our sequential growth in vehicle production and deliveries, announcing today our sixth consecutive quarter of delivery growth. Number two, manufacturing operations at both our Joliet vehicle plant and our battery factory are now underway and will gradually ramp up over the course of the year. And number three, with production ramping up in all three of our plants, we are focused on achieving profitability and are putting the right elements in place to achieve this key objective. We will now provide color on each of these items before we open the line for questions.

謝謝你，伊莎貝爾。大家，早安。我們很高興今天與您分享我們的第一季度業績，並報告 Lion 取得了巨大進步，為執行我們的計劃奠定了堅實的基礎。我們今天要討論三個主要項目。第一，我們繼續實現汽車生產和交付量的環比增長，今天宣布我們連續第六個季度實現交付量增長。第二，我們的 Joliet 汽車工廠和電池工廠的製造業務目前正在進行中，並將在今年逐步增加。第三，隨著我們所有三個工廠的產量都在增加，我們專注於實現盈利，並正在採取正確的措施來實現這一關鍵目標。在我們開始提問之前，我們現在將為這些項目中的每一個提供顏色。

Let's begin with deliveries and orders. During the quarter, we delivered 220 vehicles. This is the sixth quarter in a row of sequential growth in vehicle deliveries. We delivered more vehicles in Q1 than we did in all of fiscal 2021, the year in which we became a public company. We now have more than 1,100 vehicles on the road in real-life operating conditions. Our purchase order book currently stands at 2,565 vehicles, for a total order value of $625 million. It includes orders for 2,270 electric school buses. We secured 289 orders in the EPA Clean School Bus Program, representing a total order value of approximately $105 million, and we are working to obtain additional orders from awardees who have obtained extensions from the EPA. Nicolas will provide further details regarding this program, including the upfront payments that have been made and are expected to be made by the EPA. I am also pleased to announce that the EPA recently released guidelines for the second round of the Clean School Bus Program, which I will discuss in a moment.

讓我們從交貨和訂單開始。本季度，我們交付了 220 輛汽車。這是汽車交付量連續第六個季度連續增長。我們在第一季度交付的車輛數量超過了我們成為上市公司的 2021 財年全年的交付量。我們現在有超過 1,100 輛汽車在現實生活中行駛。我們的採購訂單目前為 2,565 輛，總訂單價值為 6.25 億美元。其中包括 2,270 輛電動校車的訂單。我們在 EPA 清潔校車計劃中獲得了 289 份訂單，總訂單價值約為 1.05 億美元，我們正在努力從獲得 EPA 延期的獲獎者那裡獲得更多訂單。 Nicolas 將提供有關此計劃的更多詳細信息，包括 EPA 已經支付和預計將支付的預付款。我也很高興地宣布，美國環保署最近發布了第二輪清潔校車計劃的指導方針，我稍後將對此進行討論。

Our PO book also includes orders for 295 electric trucks, and our LionEnergy PO book amounts to approximately $6 million for charging infrastructure and related services. We realized that the electric truck market is still in its early stage. But the recent unveiling of our Lion5 truck, the first Lion model with our own Lion batteries and the upcoming commercialization of our Lion8 Tractor later this year should position Lion very well in the truck industry.

我們的採購訂單還包括 295 輛電動卡車的訂單，我們的 LionEnergy 採購訂單金額約為 600 萬美元，用於充電基礎設施和相關服務。我們意識到電動卡車市場仍處於早期階段。但我們最近推出的 Lion5 卡車、第一款配備我們自己的 Lion 電池的 Lion 車型以及我們即將在今年晚些時候商業化的 Lion8 拖拉機應該會使 Lion 在卡車行業中佔據很好的位置。

Coming back to the EPA program. In addition to the $920 million awarded in round 1, the EPA recently announced that it is awarding $400 million in competitive grant funding for the replacement of existing school buses with clean and zero-emission school buses. For the second round, funding is expected to be up to $395,000 per vehicle, inclusive of charging infrastructure, and all applications must be submitted by August 22 of this year.

回到 EPA 計劃。除了第一輪撥款 9.2 億美元外，美國環保署最近還宣布將撥出 4 億美元的競爭性贈款資金，用於用清潔和零排放的校車更換現有校車。對於第二輪，每輛車的資金預計高達 395,000 美元，包括充電基礎設施，所有申請必須在今年 8 月 22 日之前提交。

Besides the EPA program, various levels of governments continue to implement more stringent GHG emission targets, legislation and subsidy programs to accelerate EV adoption both for Zero-Emission school buses and medium- and heavy-duty trucks. At the U.S. federal level, the EPA recently announced new GHG standards for heavy-duty vehicles. When finalized, these rules will lead to 50% of buses, including school buses and 25% of long-haul tractor trailers to be electric by 2032.

除了 EPA 計劃外，各級政府繼續實施更嚴格的溫室氣體排放目標、立法和補貼計劃，以加速零排放校車和中重型卡車採用電動汽車。在美國聯邦層面，美國環保署最近宣布了針對重型車輛的新溫室氣體排放標準。最終確定後，到 2032 年，這些規則將導致 50% 的公共汽車（包括校車）和 25% 的長途牽引拖車實現電動化。

At the state level, important laws and regulations are being adopted that will continue to accelerate the shift to the electrification of the transportation sector. For example, CARB recently adopted its Advanced Clean Fleet Rule, which is expected to have an unprecedented impact on the ZEV adoption in California. Under this new rule, all trucks performing drayage operations will need to register with CARB, and starting next year, only Zero-Emission vehicles can be registered. Federal fleets and high-priority fleets will either need to purchase only ZEVs starting in 2024 or, alternatively, meet ZEV targets as a proportion of total fleet starting in 2025.

在州一級，正在通過重要的法律法規，這些法規將繼續加速交通部門向電氣化的轉變。例如，CARB 最近通過了其先進的清潔車隊規則，預計這將對加州 ZEV 的採用產生前所未有的影響。根據這項新規定，所有進行拖運作業的卡車都需要在 CARB 註冊，從明年開始，只能註冊零排放車輛。聯邦車隊和高優先級車隊要么需要從 2024 年開始只購買 ZEV，要么從 2025 年開始滿足 ZEV 佔總車隊的目標。

In the case of box trucks and school buses, this proportion of ZEV is set to 10% of fleet in 2025, 25% in 2028 and growing to 100% by 2035. In combination with the Advanced Clean Truck Regulation, CARB expects the ACF rule to result in over 500,000 medium- and heavy-duty Zero-Emission vehicles in California in 2035 and close to 1.7 million by 2050. As seen in the past, we expect that many other states will follow CARB's leadership and adopt similar regulation.

就廂式貨車和校車而言，ZEV 的這一比例在 2025 年設定為 10%，在 2028 年為 25%，到 2035 年增長到 100%。結合先進清潔卡車法規，CARB 預計 ACF 規則到 2035 年，加利福尼亞州將擁有超過 500,000 輛中型和重型零排放車輛，到 2050 年將接近 170 萬輛。正如過去所見，我們預計許多其他州將效仿 CARB 的領導並採用類似的法規。

In addition to regulation, we continue to see great momentum in subsidies and incentive programs, with billions of dollars available across the U.S. and Canada to support fleet electrification. With our product lineup focused on urban range and our growing production capacity, we believe we are highly positioned to benefit from all these programs, and we'll continue to closely monitor them on behalf of customers, which takes me to an update on the Joliet factory and the battery plant.

除了監管之外，我們繼續看到補貼和激勵計劃的強勁勢頭，美國和加拿大有數十億美元可用於支持車隊電氣化。憑藉我們專注於城市範圍的產品系列和我們不斷增長的生產能力，我們相信我們有能力從所有這些計劃中受益，我們將繼續代表客戶密切關注它們，這讓我了解了 Joliet 的最新情況工廠和電池廠。

During the first quarter, we focused on the ramp-up of electric school bus production in Joliet as we continue to install school bus working stations equipment, with a targeted manufacturing capacity of 2,500 buses per year by the end of the year. This allowed us to continue to manufacture our LionC units for customer deliveries. Also, we should proceed with the official grand opening of our Joliet plant during the summer.

在第一季度，隨著我們繼續安裝校車工作站設備，我們專注於提高 Joliet 電動校車的產量，目標是到年底達到每年 2,500 輛校車的生產能力。這使我們能夠繼續為客戶交付製造我們的 LionC 裝置。此外，我們應該在夏季繼續我們的 Joliet 工廠的正式盛大開業。

As for our battery plant, we did the grand opening and hosted analysts for an on-site meeting a few weeks ago. We installed additional equipment as we continue to ramp up the production of Lion battery packs, with an objective of bringing our production capacity to 1.7 GWh on an annual basis by the end of the year. This will be enough to power approximately 5,000 of our vehicles in a mix of school buses and trucks. Certification of the first of our two battery pack models is expected in Q2 of this year, followed by a gradual ramp-up of production during the rest of the year. We will gradually integrate our Lion battery systems into our different vehicle models, starting with the LionC and LionD school buses the Lion5 trucks. Also, we currently have over 3,800 BMW battery packs in inventory to perform a smooth transition to our own batteries throughout the year.

至於我們的電池廠，我們在幾週前舉行了盛大的開幕式並主持了一場現場會議的分析師。隨著我們繼續提高 Lion 電池組的產量，我們安裝了額外的設備，目標是到今年年底將我們的年產能提高到 1.7 GWh。這足以為我們大約 5,000 輛混合校車和卡車的車輛提供動力。我們的兩款電池組型號中的第一款預計將在今年第二季度獲得認證，隨後在今年剩餘時間裡逐步提高產量。我們將逐步將我們的 Lion 電池系統集成到我們不同的車型中，首先是 LionC 和 LionD 校車以及 Lion5 卡車。此外，我們目前有 3,800 多個 BMW 電池組庫存，以便全年順利過渡到我們自己的電池。

Now a few words on our Saint-Jérôme plant. The operational improvements made in the prior years have allowed us to continue to increase our production cadence. No major CapEx is required to achieve our production capacity of 2,500 vehicles at scale, consisting of 1,000 school buses and 1,500 trucks.

現在簡單介紹一下我們的 Saint-Jérôme 工廠。前幾年的運營改進使我們能夠繼續提高生產節奏。無需大量資本支出即可實現我們 2,500 輛汽車的大規模生產能力，其中包括 1,000 輛校車和 1,500 輛卡車。

Let me now address our focus on profitability. In parallel to ramping up operations at our three plants, we are focused on our path to achieving profitability. The unit-level economics are healthy, and the Lion model works well at scale. As we produce and sell more vehicles and expand on our vertical integration strategy, such as the Lion batteries at our own battery plant, we are confident that the Lion model should generate attractive margins. The CapEx investments to bring our total capacity to 5,000 vehicles, including batteries, will be completed by the end of this year, a very significant milestone for Lion. We have also put in place measures to contain costs at all levels of the company to minimize as much as possible the time line to profitability. Our entire organization is aligned towards achieving this goal.

現在讓我談談我們對盈利能力的關注。在擴大我們三個工廠的運營的同時，我們專注於實現盈利的道路。單位經濟是健康的，Lion 模型在規模上運作良好。隨著我們生產和銷售更多的車輛並擴大我們的垂直整合戰略，例如我們自己的電池廠的 Lion 電池，我們相信 Lion 模型應該會產生有吸引力的利潤率。資本支出投資將使我們的總產能達到 5,000 輛汽車，包括電池，將於今年年底完成，這對 Lion 來說是一個非常重要的里程碑。我們還採取了措施來控制公司各個層面的成本，以盡可能縮短實現盈利的時間。我們整個組織都致力於實現這一目標。

Nicolas will now further discuss our financial performance for Q1. Nicolas?

Nicolas 現在將進一步討論我們第一季度的財務業績。尼古拉斯？

Thank you, Marc. I will start with the financial highlights for the first quarter. I will then comment on Q1 CapEx and conclude with our liquidity position.

謝謝你，馬克。我將從第一季度的財務亮點開始。然後我將對第一季度資本支出發表評論，並以我們的流動性狀況作為結尾。

During the quarter, we delivered 220 vehicles, consisting of 207 buses and 13 trucks, which translated into revenue of $54.7 million compared to $22.6 million in Q1 2022, a 142% year-over-year growth in revenue. 215 of the vehicles delivered in Q1 were delivered in Canada and 5 in the U.S. This was our sixth consecutive quarter of sequential growth in vehicle deliveries. We posted gross margin of negative 4%, a significant improvement relative to the negative 10% margin in Q4 of 2022. If we remove the impact of noncash share-based compensation, SG&A amounted to $17.5 million in Q1 as compared to $12.6 million in the same period last year. The increase was mainly due to an increase in expenses as we expand our head office and general corporate capability and sales force in anticipation of the ramp-up of production capacity.

本季度，我們交付了 220 輛汽車，包括 207 輛公共汽車和 13 輛卡車，與 2022 年第一季度的 2260 萬美元相比，收入達到 5470 萬美元，同比增長 142%。第一季度交付的車輛中有 215 輛在加拿大交付，5 輛在美國交付。這是我們的車輛交付量連續第六個季度連續增長。我們公佈的毛利率為負 4%，與 2022 年第四季度 10% 的負利潤率相比有了顯著改善。如果我們剔除非現金股權補償的影響，第一季度的 SG&A 為 1750 萬美元，而第二季度為 1260 萬美元去年同期。增加的主要原因是我們在預期產能增加的情況下擴大總部和一般公司能力以及銷售隊伍而導致費用增加。

Adjusted EBITDA was negative $14.5 million for Q1 as compared to negative $11.3 million for the same period last year. During the quarter, CapEx amounted $23.1 million, including $6 million incurred for the Joliet plant and $14 million incurred for the Lion Campus. As previously signaled, our 2023 CapEx for the Joliet plant and the Lion Campus are expected to amount to $65 million, consisting of $45 million for the Lion Campus and $20 million from the Joliet vehicle plant. We expect CapEx to drastically decrease next year as we expect to have by year-end, a combined production capacity of 5,000 vehicles at our Canadian and U.S. vehicle plant and a production capacity of 1.7 GWh at our battery plant, enough to power approximately 5,000 vehicles in a mix of school buses and trucks. Any future investments towards further capacity expansion will only take place when justified by the order book and, importantly, our liquidity profile.

第一季度調整後的 EBITDA 為負 1,450 萬美元，而去年同期為負 1,130 萬美元。本季度資本支出為 2310 萬美元，其中 600 萬美元用於 Joliet 工廠，1400 萬美元用於 Lion Campus。如前所述，我們 2023 年 Joliet 工廠和 Lion Campus 的資本支出預計將達到 6500 萬美元，其中 Lion Campus 為 4500 萬美元，Joliet 汽車工廠為 2000 萬美元。我們預計明年的資本支出將大幅減少，因為我們預計到年底，我們加拿大和美國汽車工廠的總產能將達到 5,000 輛汽車，電池工廠的產能將達到 1.7 GWh，足以為大約 5,000 輛汽車提供動力在校車和卡車的混合體中。只有在訂單簿以及重要的是我們的流動性狀況證明合理的情況下，才會對進一步產能擴張進行任何未來投資。

As a reminder, we expect that approximately 55% or approximately $25 million of the $45 million in capital expenditures to be incurred in 2023 for the Lion Campus will be financed through the federal and provincial loans secured for such purpose.

提醒一下，我們預計 2023 年 Lion Campus 的 4500 萬加元資本支出中，大約 55% 或大約 2500 萬加元將通過為此目的獲得的聯邦和省級貸款提供資金。

Addition to intangible assets, which mostly consist in R&D, amounted to approximately $16.5 million as compared to $15 million last year.

無形資產（主要是研發）的增加額約為 1650 萬美元，而去年為 1500 萬美元。

Let me now say a few words on our liquidity and capital resources. In Q1, gross proceeds for the exercise of the overallotment option for the December 2022 unit offering generated $7.5 million. We also completed a sale-leaseback transaction for the battery plant building in Mirabel, raising gross proceeds of approximately $21 million. We raised $4.6 million under our ATM program, and we used $6.3 million on our government loans remitted to the Lion Campus. As of the end of Q1, we had an immediate liquidity position of $57 million, consisting of a cash position of $36 million and $21 million availability on our ABL credit facility. We were also owed $10 million on the government loans for capital expenditures incurred up to March 31, 2023, on the Lion campus. Also, as Marc mentioned, 209 purchase orders were obtained in connection with the EPA Clean School Bus Program, most directly through vouchers filed by Lion and, to a lesser extent, through applications made by three agents, which were converted into purchase orders of Lion. These purchase orders represent a total value of $105 million.

現在讓我談談我們的流動資金和資本資源。在第一季度，行使 2022 年 12 月單位發行的超額配售權的總收益為 750 萬美元。我們還完成了米拉貝爾電池廠大樓的售後回租交易，籌集了大約 2100 萬美元的總收益。我們通過 ATM 計劃籌集了 460 萬美元，並使用了 630 萬美元的政府貸款匯給了 Lion Campus。截至第一季度末，我們的即時流動性頭寸為 5700 萬美元，其中包括 3600 萬美元的現金頭寸和 ABL 信貸額度的 2100 萬美元。截至 2023 年 3 月 31 日，我們還欠了 1000 萬美元的政府貸款，用於 Lion 校區發生的資本支出。此外，正如 Marc 提到的，獲得了 209 份與 EPA 清潔校車計劃相關的採購訂單，大部分直接通過 Lion 提交的憑單，在較小程度上通過三個代理人提出的申請，這些申請被轉換為 Lion 的採購訂單.這些採購訂單的總價值為 1.05 億美元。

For approximately 1/3 of these orders, clients have requested an extension to the EPA, mainly due to challenges remaining at acquiring infrastructure and related construction work. As Marc mentioned, we are also working to obtain additional orders from awardees who have obtained extensions from the EPA. Upfront payments under the EPA program have already come in, with over $10 million having been received from the EPA since the end of the quarter. As applications in respect of other orders are processed by the EPA, we expect to also be able to receive other upfront payments from the EPA.

對於這些訂單中的大約 1/3，客戶要求延長 EPA，這主要是由於在獲取基礎設施和相關建設工程方面仍然存在挑戰。正如 Marc 所提到的，我們也在努力從獲得 EPA 延期的獲獎者那裡獲得額外的訂單。 EPA 計劃下的預付款已經到位，自本季度末以來已從 EPA 收到超過 1000 萬美元。由於其他訂單的申請由 EPA 處理，我們預計也能夠從 EPA 收到其他預付款。

Lastly, at the end of the quarter, capacity of approximately $90 million remains available for issuance under our ATM program.

最後，在本季度末，根據我們的 ATM 計劃，仍有約 9000 萬美元的產能可供發行。

To conclude, I will reiterate that we will continue to closely monitor market conditions and our liquidity and capital requirements and resources. We'll also continue to explore and evaluate different financing opportunities with a view to raise additional capital and strengthen our financial position in the upcoming months.

最後，我要重申，我們將繼續密切關注市場狀況以及我們的流動性和資本需求及資源。我們還將繼續探索和評估不同的融資機會，以期在未來幾個月籌集更多資金並加強我們的財務狀況。

With that, I will pass it back to Marc for concluding remarks.

有了這個，我將把它傳回給馬克作總結髮言。

Thanks, Nicolas. Before we open the line for questions, let me conclude by saying that we are pleased with our Q1 performance, and we expect this gradual growth in orders, sales and production to continue. We will keep building on this momentum and on our objective to achieve profitability. Thank you for your time this morning.

謝謝，尼古拉斯。在我們開始提問之前，讓我最後說一下，我們對第一季度的表現感到滿意，我們預計訂單、銷售和生產的這種逐步增長將繼續下去。我們將繼續保持這種勢頭和實現盈利的目標。謝謝你今天早上的時間。

Operator, we will now open the line for questions. (Operator Instructions)

接線員，我們現在打開問題熱線。 （操作員說明）

(Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from the line of Chris Souther of B. Riley.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自 B. Riley 的 Chris Souther。

Maybe you could just kind of quantify, how many extensions do you think are out there for the first round of the EPA that are still kind of three agents that are looking at potential solutions. And maybe just on the EPA strategy for the second, how you think the bundling of the bus and charging infrastructure to play out. Do you think pricing will become more of a factor here where customers will be looking to open up additional funds for charging infrastructure?

也許你可以量化一下，你認為第一輪 EPA 有多少延期仍然是三個正在尋找潛在解決方案的代理人。也許只是關於 EPA 的第二個戰略，你認為公共汽車和充電基礎設施的捆綁是如何發揮作用的。您是否認為定價將成為客戶尋求為充電基礎設施開闢額外資金的更多因素？

Chris, Nick here, I hope as well, I'll take this one. So in terms of the broader extensions as part of the EPA program, it's something we're in the process of trying to find out, if, we believe, it could be a significant number that are still out there for the agents but don't have all the facts right now. In our case, in the case of the client that we work with, we're talking about 1/3 of the orders or 1/3 of the clients that requested extension. Recall that in total, we're talking about close to 2,400 unit vouchers for electric buses that were awarded. So it's something that we're working on right now.

克里斯，尼克，我也希望，我會接受這個。因此，就作為 EPA 計劃的一部分的更廣泛的擴展而言，這是我們正在努力找出的東西，如果我們相信，它可能仍然有大量的代理人，但不現在還沒有所有的事實。在我們的案例中，就我們合作的客戶而言，我們談論的是 1/3 的訂單或 1/3 的客戶請求延期。回想一下，我們談論的是總共頒發了近 2,400 張電動公交車代金券。所以這是我們現在正在努力的事情。

In terms of the second round, what I'd say is, the second round is $395,000 of total vouchers for both the vehicle and the charging infrastructure. It's this -- essentially, the same amount, but it's not as prescribed, meaning in the first round, it was $375,000 for the button and $20,000 for the charging infrastructure. Now there's a little bit more flexibility in terms of allocating the amount. I would also say that it's a completely different program. In the first round, we were talking about a rebate, right, where it was essentially a -- well, a subsidy to purchase the vehicle. It was targeting a really broad audience. There were over 400 awardees as part of the program, and they were capped at -- each applicant was capped at 25 units max.

就第二輪而言，我要說的是，第二輪是車輛和充電基礎設施的總代金券 395,000 美元。就是這個 - 本質上是相同的金額，但它不是規定的，這意味著在第一輪中，按鈕為 375,000 美元，充電基礎設施為 20,000 美元。現在在分配金額方面有了更多的靈活性。我還要說這是一個完全不同的程序。在第一輪中，我們討論的是回扣，對吧，它本質上是——好吧，是對購買車輛的補貼。它針對的是非常廣泛的受眾。作為該計劃的一部分，有超過 400 名獲獎者，他們的上限是——每個申請人的上限是 25 個單位。

In the second round. It's a competitive grant process. There's a pretty detailed scoring system in there, and there's both minimums and maximums for school districts, larger school districts. We're talking about minimum 15, maximum of 50 units. And for the third-party applicants that have to aggregate at least four school boards, we're talking about a minimum of 25 and a maximum of 100.

在第二輪。這是一個競爭性的撥款過程。那裡有一個非常詳細的評分系統，學區、較大的學區都有最低和最高分。我們談論的是最少 15 個，最多 50 個單位。對於必須聚集至少四個學校董事會的第三方申請人，我們說的是最少 25 個，最多 100 個。

There's also a big focus on leveraging third-party funds as part of this overall -- and I should also specify that the EPA indicated that they expect to award 25 to 50 applications as part of this competitive grant process. It's a more complex application, but I'd say it's more in line with what we've done in the past in terms of bidding.

作為整體的一部分，還有一個重點是利用第三方資金——我還應該指出，EPA 表示他們希望在這個競爭性撥款過程中獎勵 25 到 50 份申請。這是一個更複雜的應用程序，但我想說它更符合我們過去在投標方面所做的工作。

Got it. No, that's very helpful. And maybe on the path to profitability, we saw some progress in gross margins in the quarter with some additional volumes. Can you walk through whether we should expect the cadence of fixed costs over the next couple of quarters to come on as you ramp, Mirabel and Joliet or whether we could expect continued steady improvements there with some of the additional volumes?

知道了。不，這非常有幫助。也許在盈利的道路上，我們看到本季度的毛利率有所提高，銷量有所增加。你能否談談我們是否應該預期未來幾個季度的固定成本節奏會隨著你的增長而出現，Mirabel 和 Joliet，或者我們是否可以預期隨著一些額外的數量持續穩定改善？

Yes, I'd say on that, look, we're -- we think the model works well at scale. It's something we've said in the past, continues certainly to be the case. There is potential improvements related to the unit mix as we deliver more units in the U.S. as we have more of a -- as we have more of those price increases that come in, in the deliveries. We think volume will help on the margin side of things. At the same time, I think you identified correctly there can be some volatility related to the timing of the cost of the Joliet facility as well as the battery plant, but we're -- as Marc mentioned, it's clearly a focus for us to continue to improve on the margin side of it.

是的，我會說，看，我們 - 我們認為該模型在規模上運作良好。這是我們過去說過的話，現在肯定會繼續如此。隨著我們在美國交付更多的單位，因為我們有更多的 - 因為我們在交付中有更多的價格上漲，所以與單位組合相關的潛在改進。我們認為交易量將有助於提高利潤率。與此同時，我認為你正確地確定了 Joliet 設施和電池廠的成本時間可能會出現一些波動，但我們 - 正如馬克提到的那樣，這顯然是我們關注的重點繼續改善它的利潤率。

Our next question comes from the line of Mike Shlisky of D.A. Davidson.

我們的下一個問題來自 D.A. 的 Mike Shlisky。戴維森。

As a follow-up to his question real quick about your profitability comments there, Nick. Maybe a better way maybe the way I can ask is some more of meat on these, how far do you think you are? How many quarters where do you think you are from being breakeven on a gross margin level? Maybe you could do it if you could just like start there?

尼克，作為他關於你在那裡的盈利能力評論的問題的後續行動。也許更好的方法也許我可以問的是在這些上面加些肉，你認為你有多遠？您認為您在毛利率水平上處於盈虧平衡狀態的季度數是多少？如果你能從那裡開始，也許你能做到？

Yes. Well, we're -- profitability is really a key objective for all of us at Lion. And the way to get there is -- well, the first step is really a positive gross margin and then a positive EBITDA. And the ultimate goal is the free cash flow, right, free cash flow-positive. So we feel that, as Nick was saying earlier, our model scales very well. And one of the reasons for that is because the models we are building are purpose-built for electric. So with respect to volume, we don't need a very significant volume to achieve this profitability.

是的。好吧，我們 - 盈利能力確實是我們 Lion 所有人的主要目標。實現這一目標的方法是——好吧，第一步確實是一個正的毛利率，然後是一個正的 EBITDA。最終目標是自由現金流，對，自由現金流為正。所以我們覺得，正如 Nick 之前所說，我們的模型擴展性非常好。原因之一是因為我們正在建造的模型是專門為電動汽車建造的。因此，就數量而言，我們不需要非常大的數量來實現這種盈利能力。

So this would be the -- and we spoke about the material margins in the past, and they are very healthy. So let's say that this model as we have right now works very well in Saint-Jérôme. And also the way we're ramping up in Joliet, this is going very well. I think we're very focused on school buses and getting to this first phase of 2,500 school buses of manufacturing capacity we feel is very wise. And we feel that right now, the manufacturing capacity ramp-up is very well aligned with the ramping-up that we're expecting also on the purchase order side.

所以這就是——我們過去談到過物質利潤率，它們非常健康。因此，假設我們現在擁有的這種模式在圣杰羅姆運作良好。還有我們在 Joliet 中的發展方式，進展順利。我認為我們非常專注於校車，我們認為第一階段的 2,500 輛校車製造能力非常明智。我們覺得現在，製造能力的提升與我們在採購訂單方面所期望的提升非常吻合。

That's great. And perhaps my other question is also a follow-up on your comment there, Marc. I guess I'd like to know a little bit about the cadence of the ramp-up from here. It sounds like you've got increases in Q2, probably Q3, Q4 sequentially. But I'm kind of curious, is there a quarter where there's a large step change in the production volumes, either because you're opening up more at Joliet where you've got a large purchase order, at some point, this year? Just any sense as to how steep the ramp might be over the next couple of quarters would be appreciated.

那太棒了。也許我的另一個問題也是對你在那裡發表的評論的跟進，馬克。我想我想知道一點關於從這裡開始的節奏。聽起來你在第二季度有所增加，可能依次是第三季度和第四季度。但我有點好奇，是否有四分之一的產量發生了很大的變化，或者是因為今年某個時候你在 Joliet 有更多的採購訂單？任何關於未來幾個季度的斜坡可能有多陡峭的感覺都會受到讚賞。

No. Thank you, Mike. We feel that it's going to be gradual. This quarter with the sixth consecutive quarter of growth, and for us, it's really growing from one quarter to the other. That's the name of the game. We have a very strong foundation, and we will keep building like that. So I don't believe in a switch that you're just turning on and off and then you can increase by thousands of units. In my mind, this is totally unrealistic. So you can expect this growth to keep going in Q2 and then Q3 and Q4 as well. This is exactly what we're expecting. And this is very well aligned also with our customer request. We need to make sure delivering electric vehicles, Mike, is something that we need to plan ahead. So you need to plan the delivery of the vehicle at the same time that you are planning the charging infrastructure installation as well. So all of this is very well aligned with the Lion ecosystem that we have.

不，謝謝你，邁克。我們認為這將是漸進的。本季度連續第六個季度增長，對我們來說，它真的從一個季度到另一個季度都在增長。這就是遊戲的名稱。我們有一個非常堅實的基礎，我們將繼續這樣建設。所以我不相信你只是打開和關閉的開關，然後你可以增加數千個單位。在我看來，這是完全不現實的。因此，您可以預期這種增長將在第二季度繼續，然後是第三季度和第四季度。這正是我們所期待的。這也非常符合我們客戶的要求。邁克，我們需要確保交付電動汽車是我們需要提前計劃的事情。因此，您需要在規劃充電基礎設施安裝的同時規劃車輛的交付。所以所有這一切都與我們擁有的 Lion 生態系統非常一致。

Our next question comes from the line of Rupert Merer of National Bank.

我們的下一個問題來自國家銀行的 Rupert Merer。

First, just to follow up on that last question. I think you had five deliveries in the U.S. in Q1. How many of those were produced in Joliet? And given that you plan to be at a capacity of 2,500 by the end of this year, is that a number that you think you'll physically have the capability to do by the end of this year?

首先，只是跟進最後一個問題。我想你在第一季度在美國有五次交付。其中有多少是在 Joliet 生產的？鑑於您計劃到今年年底達到 2,500 人的產能，您認為到今年年底您是否有能力做到這一點？

Rupert, with respect to the manufacturing capacity of 2,500 units, the CapEx by the end of this year, as you know, will have been fully invested. And it's -- after that, it's the ramp-up of the labor that we need to do. So when we're saying we have a manufacturing capacity of 2,500 units, we do have the equipment to manufacture 2,500 units. And we will make sure that we align the labor with the forecasted delivery. So we're not saying that we will be at that pace before the end of the year, but we will be ready to be at that pace if the order book is there and if, obviously, the customers are requesting those buses in this period of time as well. So I think we need to be sure on -- to be aligned on this thing.

魯珀特，關於 2,500 台的製造能力，如您所知，到今年年底的資本支出將全部投入。這是 - 在那之後，這是我們需要做的勞動力的增加。所以當我們說我們有 2,500 台的製造能力時，我們確實有製造 2,500 台的設備。我們將確保我們將勞動力與預測的交付保持一致。所以我們並不是說我們將在今年年底之前達到這個速度，但如果有訂單，並且很明顯，如果客戶在此期間要求這些巴士，我們將準備好達到那個速度時間也是如此。所以我認為我們需要確定——在這件事上保持一致。

Yes. We -- Rupert, I'll just add. We're still at modest volumes in Q1 as we're ramping up. We're not providing the split -- the exact split of the units, but it's still in ramp-up phase. And as Marc mentioned, we expect it to continue to ramp up over the year.

是的。我們——魯珀特，我補充一下。隨著我們的增加，我們在第一季度的銷量仍然不大。我們不提供拆分 - 單位的確切拆分，但它仍處於加速階段。正如馬克所提到的，我們預計它會在今年繼續增長。

Okay. Great. And can you remind us on your order book, how many sales or orders are available for sale this year in Canada and the U.S?

好的。偉大的。你能在你的訂單簿上提醒我們，今年在加拿大和美國有多少銷售或訂單可供出售嗎？

Yes. The order book, the composition, it goes all the way up to 2026, but what we've said in our disclosure is that it -- the bulk of -- or the quasi totality of that is delivered from now to the end of 2025. Obviously, the -- substantially all of the orders are related to some subsidy programs, some of which include the ZEVs. In fact, a big portion includes the ZEVs, and some of these applications are still pending approval. So we're working to get those approvals, but I don't have a specific breakdown to give you for this year.

是的。訂單簿、構成一直持續到 2026 年，但我們在披露中所說的是，它——大部分——或幾乎全部是從現在到 2025 年底交付的. 顯然，幾乎所有的訂單都與一些補貼計劃有關，其中一些包括 ZEV。事實上，很大一部分包括 ZEV，其中一些申請仍在等待批准。所以我們正在努力獲得這些批准，但我沒有今年的具體細目分類。

Our next question comes from the line of Craig Irwin of ROTH MKM.

我們的下一個問題來自 ROTH MKM 的 Craig Irwin。

So I wanted to see if we could maybe dive into gross margins a little bit more from a qualitative perspective. So when we look at these big components in gross margins, materials, labor and overhead, can you comment whether or not you're still seeing cost escalation on materials, if you're getting more efficiency on your purchases, if that's something that's generally stabilized and materials content per bus is possible -- or bus and truck is possibly coming down the way one would expect with your volumes?

所以我想看看我們是否可以從定性的角度更多地研究毛利率。因此，當我們查看毛利率、材料、人工和管理費用的這些重要組成部分時，您能否評論一下您是否仍然看到材料成本上升，如果您的採購效率更高，如果這是普遍的事情穩定並且每輛公共汽車的材料含量是可能的——或者公共汽車和卡車的數量可能會按照人們預期的方式下降？

Then on the labor, can you comment about the number of hours per bus -- number of bus and your proportionate labor versus where you would be at the [next date]? You obviously hired ahead to facilitate a ramp that we expect to go on for a couple of years and to really train the workforce ideally. But if you could talk maybe the manhours approximately, that would be helpful.

然後關於人工，你能評論一下每輛公共汽車的小時數——公共汽車的數量和你的勞動力比例與你在 [下一個日期] 的位置嗎？你顯然提前僱用了促進我們預計會持續幾年的斜坡，並真正理想地培訓員工。但是，如果您能談談大概的工時，那會很有幫助。

And then the overhead, if we look at the overhead for adjusted [EBITDA] from facility, would it be fair to assume that those buses (inaudible) profitably with nice margins? And do we fully -- does the P&L yet (inaudible) overhead will be carrying for both the Mirabel and Joliet facilities in the future?

然後是間接費用，如果我們從設施中查看調整後 [EBITDA] 的間接費用，假設這些公共汽車（聽不清）以可觀的利潤率盈利是否公平？我們是否完全 - 未來 Mirabel 和 Joliet 設施的損益表（聽不清）開銷是否會被承擔？

Yes. Craig, Nick here. Thanks for the question. Let me just tackle qualitatively those items. In terms of material, I'd say it's a mix in terms of cost pressure. We're still seeing some inflationary pressure. But at the same time, we're starting not only to see some of that ease, but we're starting to see the -- we have a good eyesight on the benefits of a cost-out program that we've been talking about for a while. So I'd say there's some good opportunities for us to bring the cost down, and it's something that we need to achieve, and we're working at through the quarters. But it's becoming more and more tangible. And the dialogue with suppliers whereas it was about containing cost only or containing cost increases in the past, it's become more and more about going back to previous presses and reducing the cost in some instances.

是的。克雷格，這裡是尼克。謝謝你的問題。讓我定性地處理這些項目。在材料方面，我想說這是成本壓力的混合。我們仍然看到一些通脹壓力。但與此同時，我們不僅開始看到一些輕鬆，而且開始看到 - 我們對我們一直在談論的成本支出計劃的好處有了很好的認識一陣子。所以我想說我們有一些很好的機會來降低成本，這是我們需要實現的目標，我們正在努力完成整個季度。但它變得越來越有形。與供應商的對話在過去只是關於控製成本或控製成本增加，現在越來越多地回到以前的印刷機並在某些情況下降低成本。

In some more sort of technical -- technological items, we're riding out a more long-term couple of years type thing, significant cost-out opportunity, but that will take some time. But I'd say overall on the material, certainly, there's been a change in the dialogue and the relationships where we see some important opportunities to bring costs down in a number of places. So there's certainly room there.

在某種更技術性的技術項目中，我們正在度過一個更長期的幾年類型的事情，重大的成本支出機會，但這需要一些時間。但我要說的是，總體而言，在材料上，當然，對話和關係發生了變化，我們看到了一些重要的機會，可以在許多地方降低成本。所以那里肯定有空間。

In terms of labor, what I'd say is, right now, our workforce is not where we wanted to be in terms of productivity at the hours per vehicle. One of the principal reasons for that is all the development activities that we have and the new platforms that we're launching and the new production lines that we're ramping up. And so certainly, it's not as important cost-wise as is the bill of material, but there are some opportunities there, but we expect that this will improve really once we've gradually and once we've launched the new platforms that we're bringing to market this year.

就勞動力而言，我要說的是，就每輛車的工作時間而言，我們的勞動力目前並沒有達到我們想要的水平。主要原因之一是我們擁有的所有開發活動以及我們正在推出的新平台以及我們正在增加的新生產線。所以當然，它在成本方面不如材料清單重要，但那裡有一些機會，但我們希望一旦我們逐漸並且一旦我們推出了我們的新平台，這將會真正改善今年將推向市場。

And then finally, on the overhead, look that -- it's probably the biggest issue in terms of weighing on gross margins, fixed overhead or overhead cost absorption. I would say that we have a cost base today that is reflective of much more than just our Saint-Jérôme plant, and we'll absorb that over more volume as we scale up both Saint-Jérôme and the Joliet plants. There's likely to be some increases in the overhead as we ramp up Joliet but not anywhere close to proportional to volume, meaning we already incur those costs in great proportion in Saint-Jérôme to manage the two operations or the two production plants.

最後，在管理費用上，看看——這可能是影響毛利率、固定管理費用或管理費用吸收的最大問題。我要說的是，我們今天的成本基礎不僅僅反映了我們的 Saint-Jérôme 工廠，而且隨著我們擴大 Saint-Jérôme 和 Joliet 工廠的規模，我們將吸收更多的數量。隨著我們擴大 Joliet 的規模，管理費用可能會有所增加，但不會與產量成正比，這意味著我們已經在 Saint-Jérôme 承擔了很大一部分成本來管理兩個業務或兩個生產工廠。

Excellent. So my next question is really the velocity of sales into the North American market. So you've done an excellent job capturing vouchers, supporting your customers in the school districts out there to procure vouchers from the EPA programs. So can you really talk about the tempo of potential deliveries into the North American market? And should we expect a (inaudible) back-end loaded for the vouchers to really see those deliveries closer to sort of mid-2024? Or is it possible that we see a rapid uptick on those deliveries? And is that facilitated by some of the heavy pricing we've seen from other OEMs in the market?

出色的。所以我的下一個問題實際上是進入北美市場的銷售速度。因此，您在獲取代金券方面做得非常出色，支持您在學區的客戶從 EPA 計劃中購買代金券。那麼，您真的能談談進入北美市場的潛在交付速度嗎？我們是否應該期望為代金券加載（聽不清）後端以真正看到這些交付接近 2024 年中期？或者我們是否有可能看到這些交付量迅速增加？我們從市場上其他原始設備製造商那裡看到的一些高昂的定價是否促進了這一點？

Look, in terms of the EPA units, which is I think what you were referring to, and correct me if it's not the case. But we're -- the deliveries can go all the way to October 2024. I want to make it very clear that our objective is to deliver those units as soon as clients are ready to take them. And we think we can deliver them well before that. And in general, clients are looking to get those units. And the first phase of the EPA was about getting purchase orders, and we're still working at that. As I mentioned, I think there's an opportunity to do more. But really, what's going to be most important is going to be the cadence of deliveries and the quality of the product that's delivered. And so it's our objective to do much sooner than 2024. At the same time, we use the word gradual quite a lot and expect that the cadence of those deliveries will be gradual. But we do -- I mean we had very few units delivered on the U.S. The purchase order book has proportionately become more U.S.-driven than it was in the past few quarters. And it's our intention for that mix to change over time over the coming quarters.

看，就 EPA 單位而言，我想你指的是什麼，如果不是這樣，請糾正我。但我們 - 交付可以一直持續到 2024 年 10 月。我想非常清楚地表明，我們的目標是在客戶準備好接收它們時立即交付這些設備。我們認為我們可以在那之前交付它們。一般來說，客戶希望獲得這些單位。 EPA 的第一階段是關於獲取採購訂單，我們仍在努力。正如我提到的，我認為有機會做更多。但實際上，最重要的是交付的節奏和交付產品的質量。因此，我們的目標是比 2024 年早得多。與此同時，我們經常使用漸進這個詞，並期望這些交付的節奏是漸進的。但我們確實 - 我的意思是我們在美國交付的單位很少。與過去幾個季度相比，採購訂單已成比例地變得更加受美國驅動。我們打算在未來幾個季度隨著時間的推移改變這種組合。

Craig, what's your question on school buses? Or were you alluding to trucks as well?

克雷格，你在校車上有什麼問題？還是您也指的是卡車？

It would be useful to know on trucks, but on school bus, that's what everyone is watching right now. My next question is going to be on trucks. So...

知道卡車上的情況會很有用，但現在每個人都在關注校車上的情況。我的下一個問題是關於卡車的。所以...

Okay. And you talked -- Craig, I think there was another part to your question on pricing. Look, I mean, I'd say we think we could be very competitive when we need to. It will apply -- it can apply well to that second round of the EPA, which talks about leveraging sort of third-party funding. Essentially, we feel the EPA is asking for groups to do more with less, and we can do well. We've done competitively quite well in the Canadian market as well. It probably hasn't been as much of a factor in the first round, though -- yet, that we expect it to become an increasing focus, and we think we're well prepared for that.

好的。你談到了——克雷格，我認為你的問題還有另一部分是關於定價的。看，我的意思是，我會說我們認為我們可以在需要的時候非常有競爭力。它將適用——它可以很好地適用於 EPA 的第二輪，其中討論了利用某種第三方資金。從本質上講，我們認為 EPA 是在要求團體以更少的資源做更多的事情，而我們可以做得很好。我們在加拿大市場的競爭力也相當出色。雖然它在第一輪中可能沒有那麼重要——但是，我們預計它會成為越來越多的關注點，我們認為我們已經為此做好了充分的準備。

And if I could ask another, the truck question that I have. So you're now (inaudible) the Lion6 and the Lion8 are both shipping and in customers' hands. That's usually a pretty good thing for the pipeline, the potential orders, and real-world experience tends to change the quality of those customer interactions. Could you maybe give us some color around that? And then IRA, it seems that Class 4 could have outsized stimulus funding, but subsidies is a less attractive word. But Class 4 is not in your plan. You've got both Class 5 and Class 8 planned for this year. Could you talk about flexibility to address this substantial support for Class 4 out there in the market? Is it something you would consider?

如果我可以問另一個問題，那就是我遇到的卡車問題。所以你現在（聽不清）Lion6 和 Lion8 都在發貨並交到客戶手中。對於管道、潛在訂單和現實世界的經驗來說，這通常是一件非常好的事情，往往會改變這些客戶互動的質量。你能給我們一些顏色嗎？然後是 IRA，似乎第 4 類可能有超額刺激資金，但補貼是一個不太有吸引力的詞。但是第 4 類不在您的計劃中。你已經為今年計劃了第 5 課和第 8 課。您能否談談解決市場上對 Class 4 的這種實質性支持的靈活性？這是你會考慮的事情嗎？

Thank you, Craig. Class 4 is not in our plan for now, Craig. We feel that Class 5, which is a medium duty and where we have many options for the customers will cover a lot of the market. For most of those operators, what really matters is that they can drive those trucks without the special drivers license, and they can do a lot with this Class 5. And it's also the payload that matters. And you can add a lot of payload with this Class 5. So we've decided to go with the Class 5 for now. Class 4, I mean, you're getting very close to the market of the lighter truck and where it's really crowded right now. And this is a market that we've decided to stay away from. And we feel that the medium duty and heavy duty is really a market where there's a lot of potential and very few OEMs that are proposing purpose-built trucks right now.

謝謝你，克雷格。克雷格，4 級目前不在我們的計劃中。我們認為 5 級是中型，我們為客戶提供多種選擇，將覆蓋大部分市場。對於大多數這些操作員來說，真正重要的是他們可以在沒有特殊駕駛執照的情況下駕駛這些卡車，並且他們可以用這個 5 級做很多事情。而且重要的是有效載荷。你可以用這個 Class 5 添加很多有效載荷。所以我們現在決定使用 Class 5。第 4 類，我的意思是，您已經非常接近輕型卡車市場，而且現在市場非常擁擠。這是我們決定遠離的市場。而且我們認為，中型和重型市場確實有很多潛力，但現在提出專用卡車的原始設備製造商很少。

So we're one of the only OEMs out there that are proposing to our customers' purpose-built electric trucks. So huge market on Class 5. You're absolutely right. We delivered Class 6 and Class 8. And for many of those operators, they are looking at electrifying the whole fleet or most of the fleet. And it's almost, let's say, a pilot for them right now. But this is going well. I mean discussions with the truck operators, I mean, we really see an increased interest. And Craig, you probably saw as well the ACF that we were talking about earlier. We feel this is a game changer. New regulation in California. And when we're looking at the past, like with the ACT, a lot of states and a lot of Canadian provinces will follow what California is doing. And with the ACF, it's a major game changer where the starting in 2024. So it's really tomorrow. I mean it's early next year, the operators will have to start buying electric trucks in California.

因此，我們是為數不多的向客戶推薦專用電動卡車的原始設備製造商之一。 5 級市場如此巨大。你說得對。我們交付了 6 級和 8 級。對於其中許多運營商來說，他們正在考慮使整個機隊或大部分機隊電氣化。比方說，現在幾乎是他們的試點。但這進展順利。我的意思是與卡車操作員的討論，我的意思是，我們確實看到了越來越多的興趣。克雷格，你可能也看到了我們之前談到的 ACF。我們認為這是一個遊戲規則的改變者。加州的新規定。當我們回顧過去時，就像 ACT 一樣，很多州和加拿大的很多省都會效仿加州正在做的事情。對於 ACF，它是一個重大的遊戲規則改變者，從 2024 年開始。所以它真的是明天。我的意思是明年年初，運營商將不得不開始在加利福尼亞購買電動卡車。

We were expecting this to happen, and this is finally happening. And we feel this is a real game changer. So when you're looking at the product lineup we have, the Class 5 that we are -- we unveiled last week and the Class A tractors that we will be unveiling by the end of the year as well with the Class 6 and the Class 8 straight buddy as well. We have a full line of products for those operators. And we feel it's very promising.

我們期待這會發生，而這終於發生了。我們認為這是一個真正的遊戲規則改變者。因此，當您查看我們擁有的產品系列時，我們是上週推出的 5 級拖拉機，我們將在今年年底推出的 A 級拖拉機以及 6 級和 Class 8直哥們也是如此。我們為這些運營商提供全系列產品。我們覺得它非常有前途。

I could just squeeze one in on the trucks. Can you remind us the approximate number of customers that are operating their Lion6 or Lion8 trucks and the total size of the fleet that's rolling right now?

我可以在卡車上擠一個。您能否提醒我們正在運營 Lion6 或 Lion8 卡車的客戶的大概數量，以及目前正在行駛的車隊的總規模？

Yes. We have about 125 to 150 trucks out there with clients, I mean, the bulk of clients who have purchased less than 10 units.

是的。我們有大約 125 到 150 輛卡車供客戶使用，我的意思是，大部分客戶購買的卡車少於 10 輛。

Well, congratulations on the progress here.

好吧，祝賀這裡取得的進展。

Our next question comes from the line of Tamy Chen of BMO Capital Markets.

我們的下一個問題來自 BMO Capital Markets 的 Tamy Chen。

First question I had is related to the Clean Bus Program. So you said the -- of the 298 purchase orders, about 1/3 are requesting some delays with the EPA. Do you know like what the length of delays we're talking now here? Do you know what amount they're requesting for?

我的第一個問題與清潔巴士計劃有關。所以你說 - 在 298 份採購訂單中，大約有 1/3 要求 EPA 進行一些延遲。你知道我們現在在這裡談論的延誤時間有多長嗎？你知道他們要求的金額是多少嗎？

Yes. The -- when we say 1/3 of clients, I'm really referring to the number of units, Tamy, and the delays go all the way to the latest the EPA allowed is August 15. And some of the clients have -- they don't all go to August 15. And those delays were largely related to having the appropriate contracts for the installation of charging infrastructure. So it's just a matter of figuring that out. And so I'd say the extensions go anywhere from sort of end of May all the way to August, yes.

是的。 - 當我們說 1/3 的客戶時，我實際上指的是單位數量，Tamy，並且延誤一直持續到 EPA 允許的最晚時間是 8 月 15 日。一些客戶有 -他們並非都到 8 月 15 日。這些延誤主要與擁有安裝充電基礎設施的適當合同有關。所以這只是一個弄清楚的問題。所以我想說延期從五月底一直到八月，是的。

Got it. Okay. And then my last question is -- apologies if I missed this earlier, but were any of the bus deliveries in this quarter from what you've been awarded so far from the first round? And can you talk a little bit about how you expect your bus deliveries to unfold over the rest of this year as it relates, in particular, to the Clean Bus Program?

知道了。好的。然後我的最後一個問題是——如果我之前錯過了這個，我深表歉意，但本季度的任何公共汽車交付是否來自第一輪到目前為止你所獲得的獎勵？您能否談談您對今年餘下時間公交車交付的預期，尤其是與清潔公交計劃相關的情況？

Yes. Really, just a very small number of units from the EPA program. So it hasn't kicked in materially. What you may have heard me answer before around the timing of the program, the program allows for delivery and all other requirements around the scrapping or selling a diesel bus and whatnot to be done by October of 2024. We're working with clients to time those deliveries, but our objective is to deliver faster than the deadline. I mean we -- as I mentioned in one of the prior questions, the first phase of this was about getting the purchase orders, and the second phase about timely deliveries of quality vehicles. At the same time, client has to be ready to take on the vehicle, and we want this to be a positive experience. But the bottom line is we're going to look to do these deliveries as rapidly as possible.

是的。真的，只有極少數來自 EPA 計劃的單位。所以它沒有實質性地發揮作用。您可能已經聽過我在計劃時間之前回答過的問題，該計劃允許交付和所有其他要求，包括報廢或出售柴油公共汽車以及 2024 年 10 月之前不能完成的其他事情。我們正在與客戶合作安排時間那些交付，但我們的目標是比截止日期更快地交付。我的意思是我們 - 正如我在之前的一個問題中提到的那樣，第一階段是關於獲得採購訂單，第二階段是關於及時交付優質車輛。與此同時，客戶必須準備好接受車輛，我們希望這是一次積極的體驗。但最重要的是，我們將盡快完成這些交付。

Our next question comes from the line of Dan Levy of Barclays.

我們的下一個問題來自巴克萊銀行的 Dan Levy。

Apologies if I missed this earlier, I jumped on late. But I just wanted to ask on the CapEx side. I think recently, the Canadian government budget is allowing for some additional tax credits for clean tech manufacturing, which would be a pretty nice offset on the CapEx piece. So maybe you can just talk about if there's any further clarity here and what offsets you might have on CapEx?

抱歉，如果我早些時候錯過了這個，我遲到了。但我只想問一下資本支出方面的問題。我認為最近，加拿大政府預算允許為清潔技術製造提供一些額外的稅收抵免，這將很好地抵消資本支出部分。所以也許你可以談談這裡是否有任何進一步的清晰度以及你可能對資本支出有什麼抵消？

Yes. Dan, the -- yes, so in the federal budget, there's discussion of the investment tax credit, I believe, was 30% for investments related to EV manufacturing, battery manufacturing. And the version that we've seen that -- it refers to investments that take place after January 1, 2024. So it's something, as you would imagine, we're very much looking into. At the very least, it could be an option for future expansion. At the same time, one thing we've made very clear this morning is that post our 2023 CapEx plan, our intention is to drastically reduce CapEx, and we don't plan to build capacity expansion until, number one, it's justified by the order book, and number two, importantly, that it's -- it works with our liquidity situation. And so it's something we're looking into right now. We would want this to apply, of course, to our current investments, but they're not -- it's not a program that we're counting on just yet given the timing restrictions I just talked about.

是的。丹 - 是的，所以在聯邦預算中，我認為有 30% 的投資稅收抵免用於與電動汽車製造、電池製造相關的投資。我們所看到的版本——它指的是 2024 年 1 月 1 日之後發生的投資。因此，正如你想像的那樣，我們正在非常關注這一點。至少，它可能是未來擴展的一種選擇。與此同時，今天早上我們已經明確表示的一件事是，在我們的 2023 年資本支出計劃發布後，我們的意圖是大幅減少資本支出，並且我們不打算擴大產能，直到第一，它被證明是合理的訂單簿，第二，重要的是，它適用於我們的流動性狀況。所以這是我們現在正在研究的事情。當然，我們希望這適用於我們當前的投資，但它們不是——考慮到我剛才談到的時間限制，這不是我們指望的項目。

Got it. And then again, apologies if you mentioned it earlier, but if you could just address within the order book, obviously, buses are up, but trucks are down. So maybe you could just talk about some of the movements within the order book on the truck side.

知道了。再一次，如果你之前提到過，我深表歉意，但如果你能在訂單簿中解決問題，很明顯，公共汽車已經上路，但卡車已經停運。所以也許你可以談談卡車方面訂單簿中的一些動作。

Yes, it's slower than expected, to be honest. But at the same time, what we're seeing right now is very exciting. We have trucks out there. We have customers, and we do have a full lineup of purpose-built trucks. And with unveiling last week of the Lion5, we see increased interest. And we feel it's going to be exactly the same thing with the line8 tractor as well. A lot of the market is expecting the Lion8 tractor to be launched before the -- at the end of the year. So we feel the timing is finally working for us right now. And if you remember our work on the school bus side, it took about 5, 6 years to really take off. And with the supply chain crisis and the COVID and all this crisis within the last few years, we feel that this period is starting now. And we think this is exciting, and I was referring to the ACF earlier. And as I was telling Craig, I mean this is really a game changer in our opinion.

是的，老實說，它比預期的要慢。但與此同時，我們現在所看到的是非常令人興奮的。我們那裡有卡車。我們有客戶，而且我們確實擁有全系列的專用卡車。隨著上週 Lion5 的揭幕，我們看到了越來越多的興趣。我們認為 line8 拖拉機也將完全相同。許多市場預計 Lion8 拖拉機將在年底之前推出。所以我們覺得現在時機終於對我們有用了。如果你還記得我們在校車方面的工作，它花了大約 5、6 年才真正起飛。隨著供應鏈危機和 COVID 以及過去幾年的所有這些危機，我們覺得這個時期現在才開始。我們認為這很令人興奮，我之前提到的是 ACF。正如我告訴克雷格的那樣，我的意思是在我們看來這真的是一個遊戲規則的改變者。

So there are some subsidies out there. There are some subsidies on the U.S. side. There's a lot of subsidies on the Canadian side. And now we're seeing this new regulation taking up as well. And this is great. And this is really going to help us. I mean, only in California, where CARB is saying that the ACF group, they are expecting to have over 500,000 ZEVs on the road just in California by 2035 and over 1.7 million ZEVs by 2050. So now the OEMs don't have any choice than offering a ZEV in California. And a ZEV is really -- it's going to be electric, or it's hydrogen. And with respect to electric with the purpose-built full lineup of trucks that we have right now, we feel we're very well positioned to capture some of this market.

所以那裡有一些補貼。美國方面有一些補貼。加拿大方面有很多補貼。現在我們也看到了這項新規定。這很棒。這真的會幫助我們。我的意思是，僅在加州，CARB 表示，ACF 集團預計到 2035 年僅在加州就有超過 500,000 輛 ZEV 上路，到 2050 年超過 170 萬輛 ZEV。所以現在 OEM 別無選擇比在加利福尼亞提供零排放汽車更重要。 ZEV 真的——它將是電動的，或者是氫。關於我們目前擁有的專門打造的全系列卡車的電動汽車，我們認為我們已經做好了佔領部分市場的準備。

Great. And if I could just get a -- squeeze, a follow-up on that. Just to clarify, what is the typical timing of an order cycle from a fleet, meaning -- we've seen ACF pass. And just how long does it typically take for fleets to then flow in orders and for those orders to eventually convert to production?

偉大的。如果我能得到一個——緊縮，一個後續行動。只是為了澄清，車隊訂單週期的典型時間是什麼，意思是 - 我們已經看到 ACF 通過。車隊接收訂單以及這些訂單最終轉化為生產通常需要多長時間？

It's always -- Dan, it's always the first order that takes a lot of time. And especially on the truck side, I mean, the fleet operators we're talking to, a lot of them, they are very large fleets. And well, it takes a lot of planning to electrify your fleet. And it's really a team work between the operator and the OEM to make sure that while the right specs are on the vehicles but also the right charging infrastructure are being selected, and they are being installed in a timely manner as well. So it takes some time, I mean, to do a good job, and you probably remember, I mean, our way of thinking, it's really a mean for us to adapt to the operator and not the other way around.

總是——丹，第一個訂單總是要花很多時間。特別是在卡車方面，我的意思是，我們正在與之交談的車隊運營商，其中很多，他們都是非常龐大的車隊。而且，需要大量計劃才能使您的車隊通電。這實際上是運營商和 OEM 之間的團隊合作，以確保在車輛上使用正確的規格，同時選擇正確的充電基礎設施，並及時安裝它們。所以需要一些時間，我的意思是，做好工作，你可能還記得，我的意思是，我們的思維方式，這真的是我們適應運營商的一種方式，而不是相反。

So the first order takes always a lot longer. And that's one of the reasons you see so many repeat orders on the school bus side. And that's the reason why the order book is growing very well also. We expect the same thing to happen on the truck side. And we are working on the initial order for a lot of those truck operators as we speak right now.

所以第一個訂單總是需要更長的時間。這就是您在校車一側看到如此多重複訂單的原因之一。這就是訂單增長良好的原因。我們預計卡車方面也會發生同樣的事情。正如我們現在所說的那樣，我們正在為許多卡車操作員處理初始訂單。

Our next question comes from the line of Michael Kypreos of Desjardins Capital.

我們的下一個問題來自 Desjardins Capital 的 Michael Kypreos。

On the supply chain issue, your press release mentioned that you still had some continued issues. Maybe just an update versus last quarter, what sections have improved? What has gotten more difficult? And any updates on that front?

關於供應鏈問題，你們的新聞稿提到你們仍然有一些持續存在的問題。也許只是與上一季度相比的更新，哪些部分有所改進？什麼變得更困難了？在這方面有任何更新嗎？

Yes. Michael, thank you. Yes, still supply chain challenges, I mean, we're not done with those challenges at this point. It's a lot better than it was in the past. We're still expecting to have those supply chain issues for the rest of the year. You probably remember the way we've been able to deal with this. And one thing we've done, I think, very well is the redundancy of suppliers. We've been doing this because of the supply chain crisis, but we've also been doing that because of our expansion into the United States. So right now, we have a lot of suppliers on both sides of the border. And for most of the components, we have at least two suppliers and sometimes more than two suppliers as well. So we feel that this will still be a challenge for the remaining of the year, but it's becoming less and less of an issue.

是的。邁克爾，謝謝你。是的，仍然是供應鏈挑戰，我的意思是，我們目前還沒有完成這些挑戰。這比過去好多了。我們仍然預計今年剩餘時間會出現這些供應鏈問題。您可能還記得我們處理這個問題的方式。我認為，我們所做的一件事非常好，那就是供應商的冗餘。由於供應鏈危機，我們一直在這樣做，但由於我們向美國擴張，我們也一直在這樣做。所以現在，我們在邊境兩邊都有很多供應商。對於大多數組件，我們至少有兩個供應商，有時還有兩個以上的供應商。所以我們認為這在今年剩餘時間裡仍然是一個挑戰，但它正變得越來越不重要。

Perfect. That helps a lot. And maybe just on the liquidity front, your cash did drop in the quarter. And if the timing on the upfront payments for EPA last until August and maybe some other [delegates] from Canadian stimulus. What would you see would be your picking order of priorities in terms of liquidity? What would you prefer in terms of maybe issuing shares, the ATM or the other options you have available.

完美的。這很有幫助。也許只是在流動性方面，您的現金在本季度確實有所下降。如果 EPA 的預付款時間持續到 8 月，也許還有來自加拿大刺激計劃的其他一些 [代表]。您認為您在流動性方面的優先選擇順序是什麼？就發行股票、ATM 或您可用的其他選項而言，您更喜歡什麼？

Yes. Look, I'd say just first on the liquidity, Michael, we finished at $57 million at the end of the quarter. That was a $36 million of cash and $21 million available on the credit facility. We were owed $10 million on the government loans for the campus as at the end of the quarter and has since collected half of that. We received $10 million in EPA payments. We've also collected $7 million as part of an R&D subsidy program. Certainly, the EPA orders are expected to help. It's $105 million in value in total. Recall that about 1/3 -- for 1/3 of those, the clients have requested extensions that can go all the way to August. We expect to continue to receive some of those payments.

是的。看，我首先要說的是流動性，邁克爾，我們在本季度末的收盤價為 5700 萬美元。那是 3600 萬美元的現金和 2100 萬美元的可用信貸額度。截至本季度末，我們欠校園政府貸款 1000 萬美元，此後已收回其中一半。我們收到了 1000 萬美元的 EPA 付款。作為研發補貼計劃的一部分，我們還籌集了 700 萬美元。當然，預計 EPA 的命令會有所幫助。它的總價值為 1.05 億美元。回想一下，大約 1/3——其中 1/3 的客戶要求延期，可以一直持續到 8 月。我們希望繼續收到其中一些付款。

You asked about specific timing. The EPA talked about -- they stated in the program as an objectives to fund 60 days after they process the order. It usually takes a little bit of time to get these programs going. So we're pretty happy that it has started already.

你問的具體時間。 EPA 談到——他們在計劃中表示，他們的目標是在處理訂單後 60 天提供資金。啟動這些程序通常需要一點時間。所以我們很高興它已經開始了。

And then in terms of additional sources, we have, as you mentioned, the CAD 100 million of government loans, which we expect to fund about $25 million of our Lion Campus this year. And then we have about $90 million remaining on our ATM program. I said that during the prepared remarks, we will continue to monitor market conditions, our liquidity, our capital requirements, and we'll evaluate different financing opportunities with a view to raise some capital and turn the financial position in the upcoming months. That said, I can't give you a precise answer on timing and instruments. I will say we feel we have significant runway. But the -- we'll be mindful of dilution. We'll be mindful of flexibility, but I can't be more precise than that at this stage. There's going to be a lot of varying factors.

然後就其他來源而言，正如您提到的，我們有 1 億加元的政府貸款，我們預計今年將為我們的 Lion Campus 提供約 2500 萬美元的資金。然後我們的 ATM 計劃還剩下大約 9000 萬美元。我說過，在準備好的講話中，我們將繼續監測市場狀況、我們的流動性、我們的資本需求，我們將評估不同的融資機會，以期在未來幾個月籌集一些資金並扭轉財務狀況。也就是說，我無法就時間和儀器給你一個準確的答案。我會說我們覺得我們有重要的跑道。但是——我們會注意稀釋。我們會注意靈活性，但在這個階段我不能比這更精確了。會有很多不同的因素。

As there are no additional questions waiting at this time, I'll hand the conference back over to Ms. Isabelle Adjahi for closing remarks.

由於此時沒有其他問題等待，我將把會議交還給 Isabelle Adjahi 女士作閉幕詞。

Well, thank you, everyone, who attended today. (inaudible) if you may have then thats where you can (inaudible) us. Thank you.

嗯，謝謝大家，今天出席。 （聽不清）如果你有，那就是你可以（聽不清）我們的地方。謝謝。

Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes today's conference. Thank you for joining. You may now disconnect.

女士們，先生們，今天的會議到此結束。感謝您的加入。您現在可以斷開連接。