Lion Electric Co (LEV) 2021 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to Lion Electric Fourth Quarter and 2021 Results Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) A brief question-and-answer session will follow the formal presentation. As a reminder, this conference call is being recorded.

早安，女士們，先生們。歡迎參加雄獅電氣第四季及 2021 年業績電話會議。 （操作員說明）正式示範之後將進行簡短的問答環節。謹此提醒，本次電話會議正在錄音中。

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

我現在想將電話轉給投資者關係和永續發展副總裁 Isabelle Adjahi。請繼續，阿賈希女士。

Good morning, everyone. Welcome to Lion's fourth quarter and 2021 results conference call. (foreign language) Today, I'm here with Marc Bedard, our CEO-Founder; and Nicolas Brunet, our Executive Vice President and CFO. Please note that our discussion will include estimates and other forward-looking information, which our actual results could differ from in the future. We invite you to review the cautionary language in yesterday's earnings release and in our MD&A regarding the various factors, assumptions and risks that could cause our actual results to differ.

大家，早安。歡迎參加 Lion 第四季和 2021 年業績電話會議。 （外語）今天，我和我們的執行長兼創辦人 Marc Bedard 在一起；以及我們的執行副總裁兼財務長 Nicolas Brunet。請注意，我們的討論將包括估計和其他前瞻性訊息，我們的實際結果可能與未來有所不同。我們邀請您查看昨天的收益報告和 MD＆A 中有關可能導致我們的實際結果有所不同的各種因素、假設和風險的警告性語言。

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

接下來，讓我把它交給馬克開始。馬克？

Thank you, Isabelle, and good morning, everyone. Thanks for being with us today to discuss our performance during our first year as a public company, a performance we are very proud of. Indeed, 2021 was the best year ever for Lion. We consolidated our commanding leadership position in the electric bus market, where we have been selling and delivering vehicles since 2016, while at the same time, starting to sell our electric trucks. Despite the supply chain crisis and the COVID challenges, we also proved to be a very resilient company and started the construction of both the Joliet manufacturing plant and the Lion Campus, and we continue to hire talented employees, including key senior leaders. All this, while growing our order book by over 2,000 units, delivering about 200 vehicles and developing new platforms.

謝謝你，伊莎貝爾，大家早安。感謝您今天與我們一起討論我們作為上市公司第一年的表現，我們對此感到非常自豪。事實上，2021 年是 Lion 有史以來最好的一年。我們鞏固了在電動巴士市場的領先地位，自 2016 年以來我們一直在該市場銷售和交付車輛，同時開始銷售我們的電動卡車。儘管面臨供應鏈危機和新冠疫情的挑戰，我們也被證明是一家非常有彈性的公司，並開始建造喬利埃特製造工廠和獅子園區，並且我們繼續僱用才華橫溢的員工，包括關鍵的高級領導。同時，我們的訂單量增加了 2,000 多輛，交付了約 200 輛汽車並開發了新平台。

I would like to discuss those 3 elements on today's call before passing it on to Nicolas, who will discuss our financial results. First, we delivered on our 2021 strategic objectives. Second, we continued to proactively manage supply chain challenges, and we increased the pace of vehicle deliveries in Q4 of 2021. And finally, we are entering 2022 with optimism, our main objective being the scale-up of our manufacturing and commercial operations.

我想在今天的電話會議上討論這三個要素，然後再將其轉交給尼古拉斯，他將討論我們的財務表現。一是實現2021年戰略目標。其次，我們繼續積極應對供應鏈挑戰，並在 2021 年第四季加快了車輛交付速度。

Let me start with our 2021 main achievements. We are pleased that in 2021, we surpassed pre-pandemic levels and delivered 196 vehicles, more than double the 80 buses delivered in 2020. With respect to the order book, we drastically increased it to $575 million consisting of 2, 025 and 300 trucks for a total of 2,325 vehicles. This compares to an order book of 300 vehicles when we announced our planned public listing in November 2020. It also includes an order from a customer with a leader in the retail industry for 50 Lion8 Tractor trucks. We are seeing a similar trend in the LionEnergy PO book, which consists of 278 charging stations and related services, representing a total order value of $3 million. LionEnergy is a key element as we support our clients in their transition journey to EV.

首先介紹一下我們2021年的主要成就。我們很高興在2021 年超越了疫情前的水平，交付了196 輛車輛，是2020 年交付的80 輛公車的兩倍多。 025 和300 輛卡車總共 2,325 輛車。相較之下，我們在 2020 年 11 月宣布計劃公開上市時，訂單量為 300 輛。我們在 LionEnergy PO 中看到了類似的趨勢，該訂單由 278 個充電站和相關服務組成，訂單總價值為 300 萬美元。 LionEnergy 是我們支持客戶轉型為電動車的關鍵要素。

With the same objective of supporting our customers, we announced earlier this week a partnership agreement with Cox Automotive, that will complement our Experience Centers by giving our customers access to an additional 25 service centers, more than 1,000 technicians and nearly 800 mobile service trucks in the field. We also made significant progress on our 2 construction projects and delivered on key milestones for each of our manufacturing facilities.

出於支援客戶的相同目標，我們在本週稍早宣布了與Cox Automotive 的合作協議，該協議將補充我們的體驗中心，為我們的客戶提供額外的25 個服務中心、1,000 多名技術人員和近800 輛移動服務卡車。我們的 2 個建設項目也取得了重大進展，並實現了每個製造工廠的關鍵里程碑。

First, with respect to our state-of-the-art vehicle factory in Joliet, Illinois, we finished the construction of the shell building and took possession of our 900,000 square foot manufacturing plant. With tenant improvement work and the purchase of critical manufacturing equipment progressing as scheduled, we are still on track to start vehicle production in the second half of this year.

首先，我們位於伊利諾伊州喬利埃特的最先進的汽車工廠完成了外殼建築的建設，並擁有了 900,000 平方英尺的製造工廠。隨著租戶改善工作和關鍵製造設備的採購按計劃進行，我們仍有望在今年下半年開始車輛生產。

This will be the largest U.S. production site for zero-emission, medium and heavy-duty vehicles with a capacity of 20,000 vehicles per year. Hiring is ongoing, and we have started to fill key positions such as Eric Pansegrau, who recently joined Lion as General Manager for the Joliet facility.

這將成為美國最大的零排放、中型和重型汽車生產基地，年產能達 20,000 輛。招募工作正在進行中，我們已開始填補關鍵職位，例如 Eric Pansegrau，他最近加入 Lion，擔任 Joliet 工廠的總經理。

Now turning to the Lion Campus. During the year, we broke ground in the construction of what will house our new battery plant and innovation center. Construction work is on schedule. We have now completed the building foundations for the battery plant and started to mount the structure of the building. On the technical front, we are working with JRA, a Hitachi company to purchase and set up production equipment. Here again, we are on schedule and still planning to start producing the first batteries in the second half of this year. With respect to the Lion Team, the build-out is also going according to plans. Our headcount has increased by 550 employees since November 2020. It now amounts to over 1,000 people, including more than 300 engineering and research and development professionals.

現在轉向獅子校區。今年，我們新電池工廠和創新中心的建設破土動工。施工工作正按計劃進行。目前，我們已經完成了電池廠的建築地基，並開始安裝建築結構。在技​​術方面，我們正在與日立公司JRA合作購買和設置生產設備。我們再次按計劃進行，並仍計劃在今年下半年開始生產第一批電池。至於獅子隊，擴建工作也照計畫進行。自2020年11月以來，我們的員工人數增加了550名，目前員工總數已超過1,000人，其中工程和研發專業人員超過300人。

Recent key hires also include Richard Coulombe as Senior Vice President, Strategic Initiatives; David Scott as Vice President, Operations; and William Blanchard as Head of LionCapital Solutions, on which Nicolas will further elaborate in a moment. On the product development side, we spent $46 million in R&D in 2021 as we continue to develop new platforms that will complement our current 7 models. During the year, we were proud to unveil the first purpose-built all-electric ambulance that we developed in partnership with Demers, one of the largest ambulance manufacturers in North America.

最近的關鍵任命還包括理查德·庫隆布（Richard Coulombe）擔任戰略計劃高級副總裁；大衛·斯科特 (David Scott) 擔任營運副總裁； William Blanchard 擔任 LionCapital Solutions 負責人，Nicolas 稍後將進一步闡述。在產品開發方面，2021 年我們在研發上花費了 4,600 萬美元，繼續開發新平台來補充我們目前的 7 款車型。今年，我們很自豪地推出了第一款專用全電動救護車，這是我們與北美最大的救護車製造商之一 Demers 合作開發的。

Let me now provide a brief update on supply chain. 2021 supply chain challenges proved the importance of having a robust supply chain tailored to electric vehicles, which is precisely what we have here at Lion. Unlike newcomers or even incumbent OEMs entering the field of EV, our 10-plus years of experience in the EV space have been key in managing this global supply chain crisis. It took us over 5 years to build a deep supply chain tailored to EVs, and this has been a differentiating factor for us in 2021 and will remain a key competitive advantage for our long-term growth.

現在讓我簡要介紹一下供應鏈的最新情況。 2021 年的供應鏈挑戰證明了擁有專為電動車量身定制的強大供應鏈的重要性，而這正是我們 Lion 所擁有的。與進入電動車領域的新來者甚至現有原始設備製造商不同，我們在電動車領域十多年的經驗對於應對這場全球供應鏈危機至關重要。我們花了 5 年多的時間打造了一條專為電動車量身打造的深度供應鏈，這已成為我們在 2021 年的差異化因素，並將繼續成為我們長期成長的關鍵競爭優勢。

During Q4, we were pleased to see an improvement in the pace of production as compared to Q3. Not only do we have more visibility on potential upcoming issues, but we are also starting to feel the tangible impact of proactive initiatives we previously undertook to address these supply chain challenges. But we remain cautiously optimistic for this year, as we continue to see disruptions in the global supply chain in addition to labor shortages, driven in part by COVID that affect both our operations and our suppliers' operations. In a nutshell, supply chain challenges are eased, but not fully resolved yet.

在第四季度，我們很高興看到生產速度比第三季度有所改善。我們不僅對即將出現的潛在問題有了更多的了解，而且還開始感受到我們先前為解決這些供應鏈挑戰所採取的主動舉措所產生的實際影響。但我們對今年仍持謹慎樂觀態度，因為除了勞動力短缺之外，我們還繼續看到全球供應鏈中斷，部分原因是新冠疫情影響了我們的營運和供應商的營運。簡而言之，供應鏈挑戰有所緩解，但尚未完全解決。

I will now provide more color on our 2022 key priorities. First, on the deliveries and purchase order front, we remain focused on increasing our purchase order book with the objective to establish our leadership position in the electric truck market, as we have already done in the electric school bus market. The strong secular tailwinds driving EV adoption should further support this objective, as we anticipate that government programs funded by the bipartisan infrastructure bill in the United States, in addition to many other programs will formally materialize in 2022.

我現在將就 2022 年的關鍵優先事項提供更多資訊。首先，在交付和採購訂單方面，我們仍然專注於增加採購訂單，目標是確立我們在電動卡車市場的領導地位，就像我們在電動校車市場所做的那樣。推動電動車採用的強勁長期利好因素應該會進一步支持這一目標，因為我們預計，除了許多其他項目外，美國兩黨基礎設施法案資助的政府項目也將在 2022 年正式實現。

As a reminder, the infrastructure bill includes a $5 billion funding package towards the replacement of existing school buses for zero-emission ones and $7.5 billion for EV infrastructure. With respect to the ZETF program in Canada, it includes $2.75 billion to support school bus and public transit electrification. Although we cannot confirm the exact timing of funding approval, we are pleased to announce that Student Transportation of Canada, which has placed a conditional order for 1,000 all-electric LionC school buses under the ZETF has formally been accepted by the government for the last step of its funding application.

需要提醒的是，基礎設施法案包括 50 億美元的一攬子資金計劃，用於將現有校車更換為零排放校車，以及 75 億美元的資金用於電動車基礎設施。加拿大的 ZETF 計畫包括 27.5 億加元，用於支援校車和公共交通電氣化。雖然我們無法確認資金批准的具體時間，但我們很高興地宣布，加拿大學生交通公司在 ZETF 下有條件訂購 1,000 輛全電動 LionC 校車，已正式獲得政府最後一步的接受其資金申請。

Now turning to our 2 new manufacturing facilities. In Joliet, we will start receiving manufacturing equipment to start production of buses over Q1 and Q2 of this year and equipment for trucks will be received later during the year. As of December 31, in addition to tenant improvements, we have spent $13 million in CapEx, and as of today, have engaged an additional $40 million on building and equipment such as AGVs, lifts, overhead cranes and toolings. We will first focus on the installation of a production line for buses to keep up with the very strong momentum for our electric school buses as reflected in our order book.

現在轉向我們的 2 個新製造工廠。在喬利埃特，我們將在今年第一季和第二季開始接收製造設備，開始生產公車，卡車設備將在今年稍後接收。截至 12 月 31 日，除了租戶改善之外，我們還花費了 1300 萬美元的資本支出，截至今天，我們又投入了 4000 萬美元用於 AGV、升降機、橋式起重機和工具等建築和設備。我們將首先專注於安裝巴士生產線，以跟上我們訂單簿中反映的電動校車的強勁勢頭。

Simultaneously, we will ramp up our manufacturing capacity by setting up additional production lines, including the one for truck. Our headcount in Illinois should amount to approximately 500 employees at the end of this year. Now with respect to the Lion Campus, the battery module assembly line, which will be highly automated, has already been ordered for initial testing, production of module prototypes and commercial production.

同時，我們將透過設立更多生產線（包括卡車生產線）來提高製造能力。到今年年底，我們在伊利諾州的員工人數應達到約 500 名。目前，Lion Campus高度自動化的電池模組組裝線已訂購，用於初步測試、模組原型生產和商業化生產。

The orders for the equipment requiring long lead time such as conveyors and wire bonders have also been placed and both delivery and installation are on schedule. As of December 31, we have spent $5 million in CapEx. And as of today, we have engaged an additional $55 million on equipment and building. Furthermore, we are currently in active negotiations with cell suppliers to finalize long-term supply agreements. And finally, the start of module and pack production is planned for the second half of this year. As you can see, all is going according to plans. As far as our innovation center, which will mostly have our R&D activities, it will be completed and operational in 2023.

輸送機和焊線機等需要較長交貨期的設備的訂單也已下達，交貨和安裝均按計劃進行。截至 12 月 31 日，我們的資本支出已達 500 萬美元。截至今天，我們已額外投入 5,500 萬美元用於設備和建築。此外，我們目前正在與電池供應商積極談判，以敲定長期供應協議。最後，計劃於今年下半年開始模組和電池組生產。正如您所看到的，一切都在按計劃進行。至於我們的創新中心，主要從事研發活動，將於 2023 年完工並投入營運。

Which takes me to the last element on which we will focus in 2022, the initial delivery and commercialization of additional models. We are pleased to announce that during the year, we will start delivering the first Lion8 Tractor and Lion8 Refuse trucks for which we already have orders. We also expect to begin this year the commercialization and delivery of the LionD bus, the Lion5, the Lion8 Bucket truck and our electric ambulance. However, we have decided to push to 2023, the commercialization of the Lion7, the LionBoom truck and the LionUtility truck as on the front of supply chain challenges, we want to allocate all efforts on models for which we already have a strong demand or for which we are in active commercialization.

這讓我想到了 2022 年我們將重點關注的最後一個要素，即其他型號的初始交付和商業化。我們很高興地宣布，今年我們將開始交付第一批已有訂單的 Lion8 拖拉機和 Lion8 垃圾車。我們也預計今年開始 LionD 巴士、Lion5、Lion8 斗式卡車和電動救護車的商業化和交付。然而，我們決定推遲到 2023 年，Lion7、LionBoom 卡車和 LionUtility 卡車的商業化，因為在供應鏈挑戰方面，我們希望將所有努力分配到我們已經有強烈需求或需要的車型上。商業化。

With that, let me now turn the call over to Nicolas, who will comment on our financial results.

現在，讓我將電話轉給尼古拉斯，他將對我們的財務表現發表評論。

Thank you, Marc. Before we jump into Q&A, let me give you a quick overview of the Q4 and 2021 results. We were pleased to complete 2021 on a positive note with a sequential growth in deliveries and an improvement in margin. We delivered 71 vehicles in Q4, 57 and 14 trucks, a significant increase as compared to the 46 delivered in the same period last year and the 40 vehicles delivered in Q3 2021. Please note that this number includes the delivery of approximately 2/3 of the vehicles that were 90% plus completed as of the end of Q3 and awaiting components to be finalized and delivered.

謝謝你，馬克。在我們開始問答之前，讓我快速概述一下第四季和 2021 年的結果。我們很高興以積極的態度結束 2021 年，交付量連續增長，利潤率有所改善。我們在第四季度交付了71 輛汽車，其中57 輛和14 輛卡車，與去年同期交付的46 輛和2021 年第三季交付的40 輛相比大幅增加。 3 的交付量。

43 of the Q4 deliveries took place in Canada and 28 in the United States. This translated into revenues of $22.9 million, up $9.4 million as compared to $13.5 million last year. Our gross profits were $2.2 million or 10% of revenue, a significant improvement over margins achieved through the year as we continue to scale our business. Net earnings were $28.3 million and included a gain of $46.6 million related to the non-cash change in fair value of share warrant obligation and $5.1 million of non-cash share-based compensation expense. Last, adjusted EBITDA was negative $7.5 million in Q4. As a reminder, adjusted EBITDA includes adjustments for certain non-cash and non-recurring items, namely change in fair value of share warrant obligation, share-based compensation and other non-recurring expenses.

第四季的交車量中有 43 輛在加拿大，28 輛在美國。這意味著收入為 2,290 萬美元，比去年的 1,350 萬美元增加了 940 萬美元。我們的毛利為 220 萬美元，佔營收的 10%，隨著我們不斷擴大業務規模，這一年的利潤率顯著提高。淨利潤為 2,830 萬美元，包括與認股權證義務公允價值非現金變動相關的 4,660 萬美元收益以及 510 萬美元非現金股票補償費用。最後，第四季調整後 EBITDA 為負 750 萬美元。需要提醒的是，調整後的 EBITDA 包括對某些非現金和非經常性項目的調整，即股票認股權證義務公允價值的變化、股權激勵和其他非經常性費用。

Let's now discuss cash flow. Cash flow from operations for Q4 was negative $59 million, inclusive of $47 million of changes in working capital as we continue to invest in working capital and prepare for a continued increase in production. We also invested $10 million in research and development and $19 million in CapEx, of which $9 million was included in trade payables and accrued liabilities as of December 31. The CapEx amount includes $11 million for leasehold improvement at our Joliet plant and $5 million for the construction of the LionCapital. I will discuss this in more detail in a few minutes, but note that as we took possession of the Joliet building and are in parallel advancing with the construction of the battery plant, we expect CapEx to significantly increase in 2022.

現在我們來討論現金流。第四季營運現金流為負 5,900 萬美元，其中包括 4,700 萬美元的營運資本變化，因為我們繼續投資營運資本並為持續增加產量做好準備。我們也投資了1000 萬美元用於研發，1,900 萬美元用於資本支出，其中900 萬美元包含在截至12 月31 日的應付帳款和應計負債中。利埃特工廠的租賃改善，500 萬美元用於喬利埃特工廠的租賃改善。我將在幾分鐘內更詳細地討論這一點，但請注意，隨著我們接管喬利埃特大樓並同時推進電池廠的建設，我們預計 2022 年資本支出將大幅增加。

Now let me make a few comments on selected 2021 pro forma guidance. We were extremely pleased with what we have accomplished. In addition to consolidating our commanding leadership in the electric school bus market, we managed challenges outside of our control and posted record delivery and revenues in the history of our firm. Specifically, we delivered 151 and 45 trucks for a total of 196 units in 2021 as compared to 80 buses in 2020. 134 of these deliveries took place in Canada and 62 in the United States. This translated in revenue of $57.7 million, up $34.3 million or 146% as compared to $23.4 million a year earlier. Our gross profits were at breakeven, down from $3.1 million a year ago as we incurred significant manufacturing ramp-up costs in 2021. Net loss for 2021 was $43.3 million and included a gain of $85.8 million related to the non-cash change in fair value of share warrant obligation and $71.1 million of non-cash share-based compensation expense.

現在讓我對選定的2021年備考指南發表一些評論。我們對所取得的成就感到非常滿意。除了鞏固我們在電動校車市場的主導地位之外，我們還應對了我們無法控制的挑戰，並創下了公司歷史上的交付量和收入記錄。具體而言，我們在 2021 年交付了 151 輛卡車和 45 輛卡車，總計 196 輛，而 2020 年交付了 80 輛巴士。 其中 134 輛在加拿大交付，62 輛在美國交付。這相當於收入 5,770 萬美元，比去年同期的 2,340 萬美元增加了 3,430 萬美元，即 146%。由於我們在2021 年產生了大量的生產提升成本，因此我們的毛利潤處於盈虧平衡狀態，低於一年前的310 萬美元。變動相關的收益8,580 萬美元的股票認股權證義務和 7,110 萬美元的非現金股票補償費用。

Adjusted EBITDA was negative $27.6 million for 2021. Last, but not least, let me speak to select balance sheet items and liquidity. First, we ended the year with $242 million in cash in addition to untapped government loan facilities for approximately $80 million for the LionCapital. In addition, our revolver, which remains undrawn, was increased to $200 million. While we do not have any immediate needs for the revolver, we had an opportunity to increase the facility and did so in order to build additional liquidity as we continue to ramp up production. Finally, we finished the year with inventories of $116 million. The vast majority of this consists in raw materials as we continue to prepare for increased production and aim to minimize the potential impact of supply chain disruption. This also includes approximately 3,000 batteries on hand in line with our strategy to overstock key EV components in the current environment.

2021 年調整後 EBITDA 為負 2760 萬美元。首先，我們在年底為 LionCapital 提供了 2.42 億美元的現金，此外還有未動用的政府貸款融資約 8,000 萬美元。此外，我們尚未動用的左輪手槍已增加至 2 億美元。雖然我們對左輪手槍沒有任何直接需求，但我們有機會增加設施，這樣做是為了在我們繼續提高產量的同時建立額外的流動性。最後，我們年底的庫存為 1.16 億美元。其中絕大多數來自原材料，因為我們繼續為增加產量做好準備，並致力於最大限度地減少供應鏈中斷的潛在影響。這也包括約 3,000 個現有電池，符合我們在當前環境下關鍵電動車零件庫存過剩的策略。

My last comments before turning the microphone over to Marc will pertain to 2022. Although we will not be providing financial targets, it is important for us to give you color on what could impact the year. Although pleased with our Q4 delivery, we still expect Q1 manufacturing and delivery to be impacted by supply chain challenges, but we expect this issue to be reduced as we move forward in the year. With no supply, we also expect some upward pressure on the cost of raw material driven by inflation. All this should increase our operating costs and we expect this to continue for most of the year. Of course, we will work to mitigate the impact of such cost pressure and could potentially adjust our pricing strategy accordingly.

在將麥克風交給 Marc 之前，我的最後評論將涉及 2022 年。儘管對第四季度的交付感到滿意，但我們仍然預計第一季的製造和交付將受到供應鏈挑戰的影響，但我們預計隨著今年的進展，這個問題將會減少。由於沒有供應，我們也預期通膨推動原物料成本將面臨一些上行壓力。所有這些都會增加我們的營運成本，我們預計這種情況將持續今年的大部分時間。當然，我們將努力減輕這種成本壓力的影響，並可能相應地調整我們的定價策略。

Let me now spend a minute on CapEx investment. 2022 is expected to be a big year as we intend to invest approximately $215 million towards our 2 new plants. For Joliet, total CapEx to completion is expected to amount approximately $150 million, including approximately $115 million expected to be spent in 2022. The increase in total costs as compared to the $130 million initially announced is mainly the result of inflationary pressure and a slight increase in the scope of the project as we refined it to optimize the efficiency of our plant. We intend to work to optimize the project CapEx. For the Lion Campus, total CapEx is expected to amount to approximately USD180 million or CAD220 million, including approximately USD100 million expected to be spent in 2022. The increase in total costs as compared to the $145 million initially announced is the result of both inflationary pressure and an increase in the scope of the project as we have elected to equip the innovation center part of the campus with the climate testing and battery destruction room.

現在讓我花一點時間談談資本支出投資。 2022 年預計將是重要的一年，因為我們打算投資約 2.15 億美元來建造我們的 2 個新工廠。對於 Joliet，預計完成的資本支出總額約為 1.5 億美元，其中預計 2022 年支出約 1.15 億美元。範圍內，我們對其進行了改進，以優化工廠的效率。我們打算努力優化專案資本支出。對於獅子園區，總資本支出預計約為1.8 億美元或2.2 億加元，其中預計2022 年支出約1 億美元。的結果項目範圍也有所擴大，因為我們選擇為園區的創新中心部分配備氣候測試和電池銷毀室。

Please note that the $180 million mentioned above excludes the potential proceeds from a sale-leaseback transaction that we are currently exploring for the battery building. Should we go ahead and close this transaction, we expect the capital outlay to be closer to the total CapEx amount of $145 million that we had initially announced. On a final note, I'm pleased to announce that we are making great progress in our objective to enhance our offering of vehicle financing solutions to our client, and that William Blanchard has joined our team as Head of LionCapital Solutions. His mandate will be to design and implement programs to offer financing to our customers for the purchase of our electric vehicles and charging infrastructure, as well as for the monetization of carbon and other credit on behalf of our client.

請注意，上述 1.8 億美元不包括我們目前正在探索的電池建設售後回租交易的潛在收益。如果我們繼續完成這項交易，我們預計資本支出將接近我們最初宣布的 1.45 億美元的資本支出總額。最後，我很高興地宣布，我們在增強向客戶提供車輛融資解決方案的目標方面取得了巨大進展，並且 William Blanchard 已加入我們的團隊，擔任 LionCapital 解決方案負責人。他的任務是設計和實施計劃，為我們的客戶提供融資，用於購買我們的電動車和充電基礎設施，以及代表我們的客戶將碳和其他信貸貨幣化。

We plan to achieve this via partnerships with large financing institutions, many of which are already offering financing solutions to our clients. We believe these to be important aspects to ease the transition to EV for our customers as long-term financing solutions significantly smoothen the cash flow profile and the transition to EV, and in many cases, allow the customer to benefit from a favorable TCO from day 1. We will update you as we progress towards building these Lion proprietary financing solution, which will ultimately aim to further accelerate our purchase order book and pace of delivery.

我們計劃透過與大型金融機構合作來實現這一目標，其中許多機構已經為我們的客戶提供融資解決方案。我們相信，這些對於我們的客戶簡化向電動車過渡的重要方面，因為長期融資解決方案可以顯著平滑現金流狀況和向電動汽車的過渡，並且在許多情況下，使客戶能夠從有利的總體擁有成本中受益1. 隨著我們在建立這些 Lion 專有融資解決方案方面取得進展，我們將向您通報最新情況，該解決方案的最終目標是進一步加快我們的採購訂單和交付速度。

And with this, I will turn the call back to Marc.

這樣，我會將電話轉回馬克。

Thanks, Nicolas. Before we open the lines for questions, let me conclude by saying that 2021 proved us that electrification was not a question of if, but when, and this when is clearly happening right now for Lion. Looking at the entire EV landscape, I'm more than ever before convinced that we are in a unique position to consolidate our leadership in the electric bus market, while becoming a key player in the medium and heavy-duty electric truck sector. As we look ahead, we expect to reach key milestones again this year, which will significantly accelerate our long-term sustainable growth in 2022 and beyond. Let me finish by thanking our employees for their agility, dedication and resilience, as well as for their hard work throughout this past year. I would also like to thank our customers and our shareholders for their support throughout the year. And we are looking forward to our continued interaction in 2022 and beyond. Thank you.

謝謝，尼古拉斯。在我們開始提問之前，我想總結一下，2021 年向我們證明，電氣化不是是否會發生的問題，而是何時發生的問題，而對於 Lion 來說，這種情況顯然正在發生。縱觀整個電動車領域，我比以往任何時候都更加堅信，我們處於獨特的地位，可以鞏固我們在電動巴士市場的領導地位，同時成為中型和重型電動卡車領域的關鍵參與者。展望未來，我們預計今年將再次達到關鍵里程碑，這將顯著加速我們 2022 年及以後的長期永續成長。最後，我要感謝我們的員工的敏捷性、奉獻精神和韌性，以及他們過去一年的辛勤工作。我還要感謝我們的客戶和股東一年來的支持。我們期待 2022 年及以後繼續互動。謝謝。

Operator, Please go ahead with your question session. Thank you.

接線員，請繼續提問。謝謝。

Your first question comes from Benoit Poirier with Desjardins Capital.

你的第一個問題來自 Desjardins Capital 的 Benoit Poirier。

Yes, okay. Good morning. I guess it's my name. Good morning, everyone. Okay.

是的，好的。早安.我想這是我的名字。大家，早安。好的。

Good morning, Benoit.

早上好，伯努瓦。

Good morning. Just you ended the year with purchase orders around 2,325 units. What about the timing for these deliveries, Marc?

早安.光是今年底，您的採購訂單量就約為 2,325 台。馬克，這些交貨的時間怎麼樣？

Yes, Benoit, in fact, those -- half of those units are deliverable this year. So a little bit over, let's say, 1,000 units are deliverable in 2022. So we're working very hard on this. I can tell you that right now, our pace of manufacturing in Q1 is about the same as the one that we had at the end of last year. So it's going well. We are recovering slowly, but surely from everything that -- that's happening and that happened with the supply chain crisis and with COVID, but the supply chain challenges though remain for 2022 as I was just saying earlier. So we will be ramping up this year slowly, but surely, but we do have the manufacturing capacity to deliver those units up.

是的，伯努瓦，事實上，這些單位中有一半是今年交付的。比方說，2022 年可交付 1,000 台。我可以告訴你，目前，我們第一季的製造速度與去年年底的製造速度大致相同。所以進展順利。我們正在緩慢但肯定地從正在發生的一切以及供應鏈危機和新冠疫情中恢復過來，但正如我之前所說，供應鏈挑戰在 2022 年仍然存在。因此，今年我們將緩慢但肯定地增加產量，但我們確實有能力交付這些設備。

Okay. Perfect. And could you provide a color on how your bidding pipeline has increased versus the 6,000 units you had at the end of 2020?

好的。完美的。您能否提供一下與 2020 年底的 6,000 套相比，您的競標管道有何成長情況？

Yes. Absolutely, the -- well, the pipeline is increasing a lot, as you know, we've decided, I mean, not to disclose the pipeline. It's not giving a lot of information in what we have our orders, real orders in the purchase order book, and I know this is not the way that a lot of other OEMs have been acting, but this is what we feel is information that the market can trust. So we issue or we disclose the real order book when the customers are sending us the purchase order. So dialog with customers are going very well. In the truck market, we have 300 -- we have orders for 300 units right now.

是的。當然，正如你所知，管道正在增加很多，我的意思是，我們決定不透露管道。它並沒有在我們的訂單、採購訂單簿中的真實訂單中提供大量信息，我知道這不是許多其他原始設備製造商的行事方式，但這就是我們認為的信息市場可以信賴。因此，當客戶向我們發送採購訂單時，我們會發布或揭露真實的訂單簿。因此與客戶的對話進展順利。在卡車市場，我們有 300 輛——我們現在有 300 輛的訂單。

Last week, we got an order for 50 units from a leader in the retail industry space. And the name will be disclosed within the next few weeks. And this is the kind of dialog we're having with customers now. And we do have a lot of customers seeing the need to electrify their whole suite, and this is very, very promising. So we will not disclose detailed information on the pipeline, but let me tell you that the pipeline is growing as the order book, they grow as well in the last year.

上週，我們收到了 50 台零售業領導企業的訂單。該名稱將在未來幾週內披露。這就是我們現在與客戶的對話。我們確實有很多客戶看到需要讓他們的整個套件電氣化，這是非常非常有前途的。因此，我們不會透露有關管道的詳細信息，但讓我告訴您，管道隨著訂單簿的增長而增長，去年的增長也是如此。

Okay. And could you maybe provide an update on your relationship with Romeo, given the plunge in their share price? And also what kind of output we might expect from the battery land in 2022?

好的。鑑於羅密歐股價暴跌，您能否提供有關您與羅密歐關係的最新資訊？我們預計 2022 年電池領域的產出會是怎麼樣？

Yes. Well, we -- as you know, we have committed ourselves to buying a little bit over $200 million over the next years from Romeo, we decided to start putting those batteries on the Lion8 Tractor to start with. So we started receiving some battery packs. And we are expecting to receive many, many more battery packs from them within the next few months. So we're not really looking at the share price with respect to Romeo. It's more a question of relationship and their ability to deliver the units that we are looking at.

是的。嗯，如您所知，我們已承諾在未來幾年內從 Romeo 購買 2 億多美元，我們決定首先將這些電池安裝在 Lion8 拖拉機上。所以我們開始收到一些電池組。我們預計在接下來的幾個月內會收到他們提供的更多電池組。所以我們並沒有真正關注羅密歐的股價。這更多的是關係以及他們交付我們正在考慮的單元的能力的問題。

Okay. And last one for me. What about your comfort level around the cash position given the CapEx outlook that was provided earlier, maybe Nicolas?

好的。最後一張給我。考慮到先前提供的資本支出前景，您對現金部位的舒適程度如何，也許尼可拉斯？

Yes. Hi, Benoit. Look, we believe we have a very solid balance sheet. We currently have access to a little bit over $520 million, that's $240 million -- or $242 million of cash, $80 million in the government loan or grant loans and an undrawn revolver of the tune of $200 million. The capital requirements for the 2 projects as I mentioned earlier is about $330 million, of which $215 million is to be spent in 2022. And, of course, we continue to invest in working cap and R&D as we continue to ramp up production and sales. But we feel good about the current capital situation provides us with good flexibility and a lot of runway. That said, we'll remain focused on the management of cash resources,and we'll be very vigilant and always set alternatives in this regard.

是的。嗨，伯努瓦。看，我們相信我們擁有非常穩健的資產負債表。我們目前可以獲得略多於 5.2 億美元的資金，即 2.4 億美元，即 2.42 億美元的現金、8000 萬美元的政府貸款或贈款貸款以及 2 億美元的未提取左輪手槍。正如我之前提到的，這兩個項目的資本需求約為 3.3 億美元，其中 2.15 億美元將在 2022 年支出 當然，隨著我們繼續提高產量和銷量，我們將繼續投資於工作上限和研發。但我們感覺目前的資金狀況良好，為我們提供了很好的靈活性和大量的跑道。也就是說，我們將繼續專注於現金資源的管理，我們將非常警惕並始終在這方面製定替代方案。

And your next question is from Rupert Merer with National Bank.

您的下一個問題來自國家銀行的魯珀特·梅勒 (Rupert Merer)。

If I can come back to production capacity. You mentioned you have the capacity to deliver 1,000 units, if you didn't have supply chain issues, where would you say your production capacity is today if there were no supply chain issues? And when would you need to do to get that to your rated 2,500 units per year?

如果我能恢復產能的話。您提到您有能力交付1000台，如果沒有供應鏈問題，您說如果沒有供應鏈問題，您現在的產能是多少？您需要什麼時候才能達到每年 2,500 台的額定產量？

Yes. Our manufacturing capacity right now, Rupert, with respect to the equipment is 2,500 units per year, and we have the labor to do about 2/3 of that. So same thing we said last year, this is exactly the same thing we do have right now. So about 2/3 of 2,500 units on an annual basis is our manufacturing capacity right now.

是的。魯伯特，我們現在的設備製造能力是每年 2,500 台，我們有勞動力來完成其中的大約 2/3。我們去年說過的話，現在也確實如此。因此，我們目前的製造能力約為每年 2,500 台的 2/3。

Okay. Great. And you did mention some labor shortages. Give us a little more color on that? Are you seeing much turnover in your staff? And would you hire more people if you could find them at this point?

好的。偉大的。你確實提到了一些勞動力短缺的問題。給我們更多的色彩嗎？您的員工流動率是否很高？如果你現在能找到更多人，你會僱用更多人嗎？

Yes. Well, that's a good question. I mean, we -- I think what is really helping us right now is the Lion's mission. The people we want to work at Lion, they are well paid as well. They're excited about our ESG mission. They're excited that we're helping customers reaching their ESG goals as well, which is what all companies are looking at doing right now, and we feel we're in a great, great spot because of that as well. So the people are coming to Lion for -- well, first of all, because of what they're doing for a company that they respect the values. So that's the first thing. Second thing, obviously, is always how much you're getting paid. So we are able right now to hire the people that we need. Is there some turnover, yes. Like in all the places, there is a turnover of employees, but I would say it's under control. And if you're looking at the number of employees from one quarter to the other, we are always growing this number. We passed the 1,000 -- 1,000 people and -- number, and this is something that everybody is very proud of.

是的。嗯，這是個好問題。我的意思是，我們——我認為現在真正幫助我們的是獅子會的使命。我們想在 Lion 工作的人，他們的薪水也很高。他們對我們的 ESG 使命感到興奮。他們很高興我們也能幫助客戶實現他們的 ESG 目標，這是所有公司目前都在考慮要做的事情，我們覺得我們也因此處於一個非常非常好的位置。因此，人們來到 Lion 是為了——嗯，首先，因為他們為一家他們尊重價值觀的公司所做的事情。這是第一件事。顯然，第二件事始終是您獲得的報酬。因此，我們現在能夠僱用我們需要的人員。有營業額嗎，是的。與所有地方一樣，員工流動也存在，但我想說，這是在控制範圍內的。如果你查看一個季度到另一個季度的員工數量，我們總是在增加這個數字。我們超過了 1,000 人——1,000 人——這個數字，這是每個人都感到非常自豪的事情。

So how did that number change quarter-over-quarter? And in particular, how many are in the U.S. now, and how do you see that growing towards your target of 500 by year-end?

那麼這個數位季度環比有何變化？特別是，現在有多少人在美國？

Yes. So yes, we're ramping up. The -- we will be receiving, as you know, the manufacturing equipment in Joliet, and at the same pace, we're ramping up the number of employees in Joliet. So it's going to be mostly in the second half of this year. So we have a few employees on site right now, and we will be hiring on a regular basis. And most of them will be coming in, in the second half of next year to start manufacturing some vehicles in the second half of next year. So more and more employees on the U.S. side, and it's not only with respect to manufacturing, but it's also with respect to procurement. We have HR people. We have salespeople. As you know, we do have Experience Centers that we are opening as well, and we're putting more and more people in those Experience Centers. I think the big difference with -- between Lion and some other companies is that we have the whole ecosystem. And this ecosystem is key in selling the vehicles, and obviously, a lot of that growth is coming on the U.S. side.

是的。所以是的，我們正在加速。如您所知，我們將在喬利埃特接收製造設備，同時我們也將增加喬利埃特的員工數量。所以這主要是在今年下半年。所以我們現在有一些員工在現場，我們將定期招聘。其中大多數將在明年下半年進入，並在明年下半年開始生產一些車輛。所以美方的員工越來越多，不只是製造方面，採購方面也是如此。我們有人力資源人員。我們有銷售人員。如您所知，我們確實也開設了體驗​​中心，我們正在將越來越多的人放入這些體驗中心。我認為 Lion 和其他一些公司之間的最大區別在於我們擁有整個生態系統。這個生態系統是汽車銷售的關鍵，顯然，大部分成長來自美國方面。

Your next question is from Kevin Chiang with CIBC.

您的下一個問題來自 CIBC 的 Kevin Jiang。

Just wondering, just given the inflationary environment obviously creates a little bit of uncertainty as you build your backlog. Is that changing how you build the order book, like are you maybe a little bit more apprehensive building too far out, just given the uncertainty around raw material costs and you don't get caught offside with gross margins here?

只是想知道，考慮到通貨膨脹環境顯然會在您建立積壓訂單時產生一些不確定性。這是否會改變您建立訂單簿的方式，就像考慮到原材料成本的不確定性並且您不會在毛利率方面陷入越位，您是否可能會更加擔心建立得太遠？

Yes. Hey, Kevin, it's Nic here. Obviously, we factor that in how we build the order book. There are, for us, 2 things sort of working in on the opposite direction. We have -- and at the same time, we are seeing some inflationary pressure without a doubt. We -- that said, it's still the intention to build the pipeline in the longer term. It does inform how we're going to curve of that cost down, but it remains our goal. And what we're doing or focus to lower the cost of the vehicles over the year, and we have a good grip on that where that's going over the next few years. Yes. So, and, of course, we haven't adjusted the pricing in the near term. It's always something that we could do, but for the time being, we're seeing our competitors increase their prices. We saw some price increase as high as 15%, that makes our products relatively more attractive. And we feel that the unit level economics continue to work very well. And so it's something we're very mindful of, but it doesn't change the long-term strategy.

是的。嘿，凱文，我是尼克。顯然，我們在建立訂單簿時考慮了這一點。對我們來說，有兩件事朝著相反的方向發揮作用。同時，我們毫無疑問地看到了一些通膨壓力。儘管如此，我們仍然打算長期建造管道。它確實告訴我們將如何降低成本，但這仍然是我們的目標。我們正在做的或重點是降低一年中車輛的成本，並且我們對未來幾年的發展有很好的把握。是的。因此，當然，我們短期內沒有調整定價。這始終是我們可以做的事情，但目前，我們看到我們的競爭對手提高了價格。我們看到價格漲幅高達15%，這使得我們的產品相對更具吸引力。我們認為單位層級的經濟學繼續運作良好。所以這是我們非常關注的事情，但這不會改變長期策略。

Okay. And then, Marc, you commented on, I guess, how people define the backlog, and I think you view, the way you define it as maybe more conservative, so the cash flow purchase order versus maybe others. Wondering for big customers that you're going after was, were they signed large LOIs or some sort of handshake agreement with another OEM or do you find that those customers are still open to talking with you even if they signed a large or has not signed, but have indicated an intention to buy some electric vehicles from another OEM?

好的。然後，馬克，你評論了，我想，人們如何定義積壓，我認為你認為，你定義它的方式可能更保守，所以現金流採購訂單與其他可能相比。想知道您要尋找的大客戶是否與另一家 OEM 簽署了大型意向書或某種握手協議，或者您是否發現這些客戶仍然願意與您交談，即使他們簽署了大型或尚未簽署，但是否表示有意從其他OEM 購買一些電動車？

Well, you know what, Kevin, we feel that's exactly the other way around. I mean, we -- the operators are looking for a real solution. They're not looking for a press release to announce that they've been ordering trucks when they do not order trucks. So basically, we think our strategy is the right one. And it's been the same since day 1. We are real -- we have real operations. We have real customers. We are having products on the road. We saw some newcomers, I mean saying that they -- hey, they sold units in 2021, when you're looking, I mean, they sold units for 0. I mean, so it's only units on the road. We have a lot of units on the road. We have a lot of mileage. So we don't need those kind of things. So the dialog we're having with customers are the kind of dialog that the customers are expecting.

好吧，你知道嗎，凱文，我們覺得情況恰恰相反。我的意思是，我們——運營商正在尋找真正的解決方案。當他們不訂購卡車時，他們並不是在尋找新聞稿來宣布他們已經訂購了卡車。所以基本上，我們認為我們的策略是正確的。從第一天起就一直如此。我們有真正的客戶。我們正在路上生產產品。我們看到一些新來者，我的意思是說他們- 嘿，他們在2021 年出售了單位，當你查看時，我的意思是，他們以0 的價格出售了單位。這只是在路上的單位。我們在路上有很多單位。我們有很多里程。所以我們不需要那些東西。因此，我們與客戶進行的對話正是客戶所期望的對話。

Basically, we are there for them. And they want to put trucks on the road. They want to put buses on the road. They want to put them without distracting their operations right now. They're making money delivering products, and this is what we're doing with them. So we're selling them the right vehicle with the right specs at the right time with the appropriate charging infrastructure as well at the right price, and this is exactly what they're looking at. So they want people who know what is their duty cycle, the duty cycle of their products and that will be providing them with the real charging infrastructure.

基本上，我們是為他們服務的。他們想讓卡車上路。他們想讓公共汽車上路。他們希望在不影響他們現在操作的情況下放置它們。他們透過提供產品來賺錢，這就是我們與他們一起做的事情。因此，我們在正確的時間向他們出售具有正確規格、適當充電基礎設施以及正確價格的正確車輛，而這正是他們所關注的。因此，他們希望人們知道他們的工作週期、產品的工作週期是什麼，這將為他們提供真正的充電基礎設施。

So when we're selling, let's say, trucks, for example, and that's one of the reasons maybe for the slower ramp-up because we're in a very good, very serious dialog with customers. Well, it's most of the time, it's the whole thing that the customers are buying. You see that the Lion Energy PO book is growing. Also, we have a very good growth in that place as well. So they're looking for the charging infrastructure. They're looking for a one-stop shop, and that's exactly what we're giving them. So we feel exactly the other way around. It doesn't preclude us from having any discussions with them. If there's something, I think that we feel that they're talking to the right OEM and they're talking to us.

例如，當我們銷售卡車時，這可能是成長緩慢的原因之一，因為我們正在與客戶進行非常良好、非常認真的對話。嗯，大多數時候，這就是顧客購買的全部東西。您將會看到 Lion Energy PO 簿正在成長。此外，我們在那個地方也有很好的成長。所以他們正在尋找充電基礎設施。他們正在尋找一站式服務，而這正是我們為他們提供的。所以我們的感覺恰恰相反。這並不妨礙我們與他們進行任何討論。如果有的話，我認為我們覺得他們正在與正確的 OEM 商交談，並且他們正在與我們交談。

Okay. That's helpful. And I apologize if I missed this and last one for me. You talked about some of the manufacturing ramp-up costs that are weighing on gross margin. Did you quantify what those were some of to try to separate kind of those ramp-up costs versus direct cost of goods sold associated with the vehicles that you delivered in the quarter?

好的。這很有幫助。如果我錯過了這次和最後一次，我深表歉意。您談到了一些影響毛利率的製造成本。您是否量化了其中的一些內容，以嘗試將這些增加成本與與您在本季度交付的車輛相關的銷​​售商品的直接成本分開？

Yes. No, Kevin, we don't separate those and obviously there's a lot of sensitive information in there. I'd say the 10% gross margin off of the 71 vehicle sales is a big improvement on what we've seen over the rest of the year. I'm very happy with that, as I mentioned before, at the unit level, the model works really well, it's a matter of scaling it. We are incurring costs today, and those costs are really going through the P&L today, but they're really targeted for resources that are targeted at tomorrow's production, and that's sort of the -- what we're going through to grow the production and the sale. But I'll reiterate it works well at the unit level, and then we expect gross margin to continue to increase with scale in production in those.

是的。不，凱文，我們不會將它們分開，顯然其中有很多敏感資訊。我想說，71 輛汽車的銷售毛利率比我們今年剩餘時間看到的要大得多。我對此非常滿意，正如我之前提到的，在單元級別，該模型運行得非常好，這是一個擴展它的問題。我們今天正在產生成本，這些成本確實在今天的損益表中，但它們實際上是針對明天生產的資源，這就是我們為增加產量而經歷的事情打折。但我要重申，它在單位層面上運作良好，然後我們預計毛利率將隨著這些單位生產規模的擴大而繼續增加。

Next question is from Brian Johnson with Barclays.

下一個問題來自巴克萊銀行的布萊恩·約翰遜。

Four questions. As we look at the 4Q run rate, how much was in -- how much were trucks that were largely assembled in 3Q that you have parts for? How much then were kind of fresh from job -- from scratch trucks? And then you caught some kind of bit about 1Q, but how do we think then about the cadence through '22 of builds?

四個問題。當我們查看第四季度的運行率時，在第三季度主要組裝的卡車中有多少是您有零件的？那麼，有多少是剛下班——從頭開始的卡車？然後您了解到有關 1Q 的一些信息，但是我們如何看待 22 個版本的節奏？

Yes. Maybe I'll start with the question on Q4 and Marc will take the cadence going forward. So we talked about 50 trucks that were 90% -- 50, excuse me, vehicles, not trucks that were 60% -- 90% plus completed as of the end of Q3. This is a figure that we provided given the impact that the supply chain issues have had on the quarter. In the fourth quarter, about 2/3 of those specific vehicles were delivered and then assume that the rest were either starting from scratch on the quarter or starting before, but we're at a much lesser completion rate. So that's for the Q4 look.

是的。也許我會從第四季的問題開始，然後馬克將繼續下去。因此，我們討論的是 50 輛卡車，截至第三季末，已完成 90% - 50 輛，而不是 60% - 90% 以上的卡車。這是我們考慮到供應鏈問題對該季度產生的影響而提供的數字。在第四季度，大約 2/3 的特定車輛已交付，然後假設其餘車輛要么在本季度從頭開始，要么之前開始，但我們的完成率要低得多。這就是第四季的外觀。

Yes, Brian, let me -- well, Good morning, Brian. Let me take the cadence for 2022. As I said, I mean, we see the cadence right now in Q1 being about the same as the one at the end of last year. What we're seeing right now with the supply chain challenges, it's evolving very, very fast. I will say that what we're seeing the most right now is longer lead times from our suppliers. So most of the issues like with no delivering, I mean, we're past that, but longer lead times on average, it's 2 additional months. On average, it's something that we're taking like 1 month previously, it's taking about 3 months. So that's on average.

是的，布萊恩，讓我——好吧，早上好，布萊恩。讓我以 2022 年的節奏為例。我們現在看到的供應鏈挑戰，它的發展非常非常快。我想說的是，我們現在最看到的是供應商的交貨時間更長。所以大多數問題例如沒有交付，我的意思是，我們已經過去了，但平均交貨時間更長，多了 2 個月。平均而言，我們 1 個月前就開始做這件事，現在大約需要 3 個月。所以這是平均值。

And when we do add overseas suppliers, well, it's even worse because obviously, they are longer lead times, but also you need to add to this the logistic challenges. So logistic challenges because there are less availability from the carriers. So when we -- this is exactly what we factor. We factor all of this right now in our cadence and we see a ramp-up throughout the year 2022. So Q1, about the same pace as you -- we had in Q4, but we've already put in the orders to significantly ramp up after that. So it's going to be a constant ramp-up throughout the year to deliver as much as possible the number of units that are being -- that are deliverable this year in 2022.

當我們確實添加海外供應商時，情況會更糟，因為顯然，它們的交貨時間更長，而且還需要增加物流挑戰。因此，物流面臨挑戰，因為承運商的可用性較少。所以當我們——這正是我們考慮的因素。我們現在將所有這些都納入我們的節奏中，我們看到 2022 年全年都會有所增長。起來了。因此，全年將不斷增加，以盡可能多地交付今年可交付的單位數量（即 2022 年）。

Let me maybe add on your -- in my answer, Brian, that in all the things that we've been doing with respect to the supply chain challenges, in addition to everything we said in the past, like stacking more components, stacking less critical components as well, all of that, we've been adding to the suppliers redundancy even more, and we started to build our U.S. procurement as well. So we're getting ready to manufacture in Joliet, and many of those suppliers that we'll be supplying the Joliet operation have already started supplying the Montreal operation as well. So we're pleased to do that, and we're building that U.S. ecosystem at the same time. So it's really, really helping us ramp up our manufacturing even on the Canadian side right now.

布萊恩，在我的回答中，也許讓我補充一下，除了我們過去所說的一切之外，在我們針對供應鏈挑戰所做的所有事情中，例如堆疊更多組件、更少堆疊以及關鍵部件，所有這些，我們一直在增加供應商的冗餘，我們也開始建立我們的美國採購。因此，我們正準備在喬利埃特進行生產，而我們將為喬利埃特工廠供貨的許多供應商也已經開始為蒙特利爾工廠供貨。所以我們很高興這樣做，同時我們正在建立美國的生態系統。因此，它確實非常有助於我們提高製造業，甚至現在在加拿大也是如此。

Right. I get that. Look forward to you launching here in Illinois. Second question kind of related to that. A lot of specs -- spec graduates investors are very worried about follow-on funding rounds that could be dilutive. And so I just want to get on the table because selling the cloud for anyone who went out ways back. So as I kind of look at your cash plus liquidity, but then there's some big chunks of CapEx coming up. So it seems like in Canada, the campus will largely be paid for through that $80 million. There's a big chunk of CapEx down in Joliet for $100 million. You mentioned the sale-leaseback. But just how do we think about -- you have the gross CapEx in the presentation, but what it's likely to do in terms of actual CapEx coming out of the cash flow and cash balance for the course of '22, given all the various options you have to fund those hard assets?

正確的。我明白了。期待您在伊利諾伊州啟動。第二個問題與此相關。許多投機者—投機者畢業生投資者非常擔心後續融資可能會稀釋股權。所以我只是想參與進來，因為向任何走出去的人出售雲。因此，當我查看您的現金加流動性時，但隨後會出現一些大塊的資本支出。因此，在加拿大，校園的建設費用似乎主要透過這 8,000 萬美元來支付。 Joliet 的大部分資本支出為 1 億美元。您提到了售後回租。但我們如何思考——您在演示文稿中看到了總資本支出，但是考慮到所有不同的選擇，從 22 年的現金流和現金餘額中得出的實際資本支出可能會發生什麼你必須為那些硬資產提供資金嗎？

Yes. Hey, good questions, Brian. So the -- for the sale-leaseback, I won't provide a specific figure and this is something that we're exploring right now. It's 175,000 square foot building, that industrial building, just a box. And so we're -- we think our capital is better than elsewhere. The -- in terms of the $80 million government loans, view that as being very sort of proportionate. So the draws on there will be proportionate to the spend of the overall project. And then on the back to -- for the rest back to the point that when you add all these things together, with $520 million of liquidity, and the project is $215 million that gets spent this year on the project, and that is before any proceeds of a sale-leaseback. So we feel very good about the current capital situation. We have good runway, good flexibility, but as I mentioned before, we'll be very focused on the management cash resources and stay vigilant around alternatives for this.

是的。嘿，好問題，布萊恩。因此，對於售後回租，我不會提供具體數字，這是我們現在正在探索的事情。這是一座 175,000 平方英尺的建築，那座工業建築，只是一個盒子。所以我們認為我們的首都比其他地方更好。就 8000 萬美元的政府貸款而言，我認為這是非常相稱的。因此，那裡的支出將與整個項目的支出成比例。然後回到——剩下的回到這一點，當你把所有這些東西加在一起時，有 5.2 億美元的流動性，該項目今年的支出為 2.15 億美元，這是在任何項目之前售後回租的收益。所以我們對目前的資本狀況感覺非常好。我們擁有良好的跑道和良好的靈活性，但正如我之前提到的，我們將非常專注於管理現金資源，並對替代方案保持警惕。

Your next question is from Nauman Satti with Laurentian Bank.

您的下一個問題來自勞倫森銀行的 Nauman Satti。

So I think Nicolas, you had mentioned that at the end of last quarter, you had about 50 vehicles, which were close to its finish model and 2/3 were delivered. I'm wondering, in the end of the fourth quarter, what sort of number for almost finished vehicles look like?

所以我想尼古拉斯，您提到在上個季度末，您有大約 50 輛車，接近其最終模型，並且 2/3 已交付。我想知道，到第四季末，幾乎成品車的數字是什麼樣的？

Yes, Hi, Nauman. Hey, as I mentioned before, this was a figure that we provided at the end of Q3 because of the severe impact that the supply chain has had on our production at that point. It's not a figure that we plan to update the Street on a quarterly basis. I will say though, we're still in a situation where we're advancing vehicles and we're putting their components or few missing components that prevent us from finalizing certain bids roughly.

是的，嗨，諾曼。嘿，正如我之前提到的，這是我們在第三季末提供的數字，因為供應鏈當時對我們的生產產生了嚴重影響。我們不打算每季更新《華爾街日報》的這個數字。但我要說的是，我們仍然處於這樣一種情況：我們正在推進車輛，我們正在放置它們的組件或少數缺少的組件，這阻止我們粗略地最終確定某些投標。

Okay, okay. That's fair. And when I look at your backlog growth in terms of the new truck orders, I'm just wondering if there were any repeat orders as well or were these from new customers?

好吧好吧。這還算公平。當我查看你們的新卡車訂單積壓成長時，我只是想知道是否還有重複訂單，或者這些訂單是否來自新客戶？

Yes. We have a mix of both, Nauman. I mean we do have repeat orders. Well, you know the story on this order of 1,000 units from STC, obviously, that's been a major repeat order, but we have new customers as well. So I will say that on the bus side, many, many repeat orders, we have new customers as well. On the truck side, obviously, new customers because we just started delivering the -- our electric trucks in 2021.

是的。我們兩者兼而有之，瑙曼。我的意思是我們確實有重複訂單。嗯，您知道 STC 的 1,000 台訂單的故事，顯然，這是一個重大的重複訂單，但我們也有新客戶。所以我想說，在公車方面，有很多很多重複訂單，我們也有新客戶。在卡車方面，顯然是新客戶，因為我們剛剛在 2021 年開始交付我們的電動卡車。

Okay, that's fair. And just -- this is more a general question in terms of the bidding activity that you're doing. I'm just wondering how big is your sales team now? And what sort of incentives are there? And how aggressive are you in those bidding activities? I'm just trying to get a sense of what sort of incentives are there for your sales team?

好吧，這很公平。只是 - 就您正在進行的投標活動而言，這是一個更普遍的問題。我只是想知道你們現在的銷售團隊有多大？有哪些激勵措施？您在這些競標活動中有多積極？我只是想了解你們的銷售團隊有哪些激勵措施？

You mean the sales -- for the salespeople?

您指的是銷售人員的銷售嗎？

Yes.

是的。

Yes, well, I mean, no, they're well paid. We do have a major incentive of making the -- well, basically easing the reach of our customers in the ESG goals, which is great. So very well paid people. Many of our people are very seasoned people in sales as well. We have many -- well, our sales forces in the U.S. and also in Canada, and we have local people in almost all of the states and provinces that we are targeting right now. So I don't want to get into the details, obviously, because it's very sensitive with respect to the other OEMs we're competing with, but they are very well paid throughout and then they're doing a good job.

是的，嗯，我的意思是，不，他們的薪水很高。我們確實有一個主要動機——嗯，基本上是讓我們的客戶更容易實現 ESG 目標，這很棒。所以人們的薪水很高。我們的許多人在銷售方面也是經驗豐富的人。我們在美國和加拿大都有很多銷售人員，而且我們現在的目標幾乎所有州和省份都有當地人。所以顯然，我不想透露細節，因為這對我們與之競爭的其他原始設備製造商來說非常敏感，但他們自始至終都得到很高的報酬，而且他們做得很好。

Okay, that's great. And maybe just one last one for Nicolas. Maybe if you could remind us, so you have this committed credit facility of $100 million. Just -- I think which was upsized to $200 million, but I'm just wondering if there are any covenants or restrictions on when you can draw on it or it's just like fully committed, you can do it anytime you want without any restrictions?

好的，太好了。也許只是尼古拉斯的最後一件事。也許如果您能提醒我們的話，那麼您就擁有了 1 億美元的承諾信貸額度。只是——我認為它的規模擴大到了 2 億美元，但我只是想知道，當你可以提取它時是否有任何契約或限制，或者就像完全承諾一樣，你可以隨時進行，沒有任何限制？

Yes, no, it's certainly fully committed. It's an ABL like facility. So it's subject to a borrowing base. Obviously, we're growing working capital quite fast and this is the ideal instrument for that. There are some covenants related to that, that we feel are very, I'd say, more order-friendly. Yes, no, I'll leave it at that.

是的，不，它肯定是完全投入的。這是一個類似 ABL 的設施。因此它受到借貸基礎的影響。顯然，我們的營運資金成長速度相當快，這是實現這一目標的理想工具。有一些與此相關的約定，我想說，我們認為這些約定非常有利於訂單。是的，不，我就這樣吧。

Okay, no, that's very good. So yes, that's it from me.

好吧，不，那很好。是的，這就是我的。

Your next question is from Jonathan Lamers with BMO Capital Markets.

您的下一個問題來自 BMO 資本市場的 Jonathan Lamers。

Marc, on the Lion Financing Solutions division, could you discuss the need for this you saw in the truck market and how you expect it will support sales going forward?

Lion Financing Solutions 部門的 Marc，您能否討論一下您在卡車市場中看到的這一需求以及您預計它將如何支持未來的銷售？

Yes, no, thank you, Jonathan. Well, I think it's really going to help selling buses and trucks. Earlier, I was talking about the customers looking for the whole ecosystem. So right now, it's not only about just buying a truck like they've been doing with diesel. It's buying the whole charging -- the charging infrastructure, getting your end also on any amount of subsidies out there, but it's also the financing of those trucks and buses, the higher upfront cost is the challenge with EV. So with LionCapital Solutions, we will be able to lower the upfront cost. Sometimes we'll be able to eliminate, I mean, the whole cost, it's really as a service kind of financing that we are doing. So in our opinion, that was like the missing link in everything that we were offering, and we think that this is going to have a major, major impact on ourselves going forward.

是的，不，謝謝你，喬納森。嗯，我認為這確實有助於銷售公共汽車和卡車。早些時候，我談到了尋找整個生態系統的客戶。所以現在，這不僅僅是像他們以前購買柴油卡車那樣購買卡車。它正在購買整個充電——充電基礎設施，讓你也能獲得任何數量的補貼，但它也是這些卡車和巴士的融資，較高的前期成本是電動車面臨的挑戰。因此，透過 LionCapital Solutions，我們將能夠降低前期成本。有時我們能夠消除，我的意思是，全部成本，這實際上是我們正在做的一種服務融資。因此，在我們看來，這就像我們所提供的一切中缺少的一環，我們認為這將對我們自己的未來產生重大影響。

Will you be taking anything on your balance sheet or is it all third-party?

您的資產負債表上會包含任何內容嗎？

Hey, Jonathan, the idea is really third-party, that's the whole point of to be able to leverage the capital of others. And it's something all partners we've been working with, and it's a matter of formalizing and making it more programmatic. The impact on our balance sheet should be very minimum, and we're talking about potentially helping with some reserves here and there, but nothing major.

嘿，喬納森，這個想法實際上是第三方的，這就是能夠利用他人資本的全部意義。這是我們一直在與所有合作夥伴合作的事情，這是一個正式化並使其更加程序化的問題。對我們資產負債表的影響應該是非常小的，我們正在談論可能會在這裡或那裡提供一些儲備，但沒什麼大不了的。

And on the sales pipeline, great to see the order from the large retailer. Marc, I believe you previously mentioned discussions with some very large fleet operators regarding some potential large orders. Could you comment on how discussions with that segment are continuing, and whether any large fleet operators are close to trialing a few vehicles?

在銷售管道上，很高興看到來自大型零售商的訂單。馬克，我相信您之前提到過與一些非常大的車隊營運商就一些潛在的大訂單進行過討論。您能否評論一下與該細分市場的討論如何繼續，以及是否有任何大型車隊營運商接近試用一些車輛？

Yes, absolutely, Jonathan. It's going very well. I mean, we're in constant dialog with them. I mean many of them, they have already tried our products. So they like driving the problem, that's the first thing. Some of them have been running some tests on the -- on our telematics system as well, which is key for them. Our capacity to deliver the charging infrastructure and almost any types of charging infrastructure as well. I mean, it's -- and all the credibility that we've been gaining in the marketplace being -- well, the first one in the market, but adding purpose-built electric vehicles, which is exactly what the operators are looking for. They are looking at lowering the maintenance cost and this is exactly what they're getting with our products. I will say it's going very well. What is very promising also is that, especially on the truck side, you will see that many of those operators are basically going for very significant numbers.

是的，絕對是，喬納森。進展順利。我的意思是，我們一直在與他們對話。我的意思是他們中的許多人已經嘗試過我們的產品。所以他們喜歡解決問題，這是第一件事。他們中的一些人也在我們的遠端資訊處理系統上運行了一些測試，這對他們來說至關重要。我們有能力提供充電基礎設施以及幾乎任何類型的充電基礎設施。我的意思是，它是——以及我們在市場上獲得的所有信譽——嗯，市場上的第一個，但增加了專用電動車，這正是營運商所尋求的。他們正在尋求降低維護成本，而這正是他們從我們的產品中獲得的成果。我會說一切進展順利。非常有希望的是，特別是在卡車方面，您會看到許多運營商基本上都在追求非常可觀的數字。

As the #50 that we saw earlier this week, but even bigger numbers than that. So many of them are looking at electrifying the old fleet within a number of years, which is very, very promising because they do understand the total cost of ownership. They get it, and they're spending most of their money on maintenance, on the cost of energy as well. So the upfront cost is something that it's really all the costs that they we will be maturing after that, which is very significant for them. So when they're looking at EV, they fully understand that they're saving a lot of money on an annual basis. Well, at Lion, we do have the -- all the experience over the last 5, 6 years, very good technology as well. So those discussions with the customers, I mean, they are better and better and better all the time. Yes.

正如我們本週早些時候看到的第 50 名，但數字甚至更大。他們中的許多人都在考慮在幾年內對舊船隊進行電氣化，這是非常非常有希望的，因為他們確實了解總擁有成本。他們明白了，他們把大部分錢花在維護上，也花在能源成本上。因此，前期成本實際上是我們在此之後成熟的所有成本，這對他們來說非常重要。因此，當他們考慮電動車時，他們完全明白自己每年可以省下很多錢。嗯，在 Lion，我們確實擁有——過去 5、6 年的所有經驗，以及非常好的技術。因此，我的意思是，與客戶的討論一直在變得越來越好。是的。

Thanks. And Marc and Nicolas, I believe you mentioned based on the raw material cost inflation you're seeing, you would consider adjusting prices if necessary. Are industry truck prices trending consistently with your expectations? I believe some assemblers are publicly discussing pricing for Class 8s in the low 300 range, recognizing there's a lot of factors that go into the selling price?

謝謝。馬克和尼古拉斯，我相信您提到過，根據您所看到的原材料成本通膨，如果有必要，您會考慮調整價格。工業用卡車價格趨勢與您的預期一致嗎？我相信一些組裝商正在公開討論 300 美元以下範圍內的 8 級定價，並認識到影響售價的因素有很多？

Yes. I'd say Jonathan, the pricing is dependent on a lot of things, including onboard energy. What we found is that our pricing in the market is competitive. And, of course, like it's not a -- I wouldn't point to one single price unit or unit point. But yes, we feel in general, pricing is quite competitive, and that's an important part of the dialog with the customers.

是的。我想說喬納森，定價取決於許多因素，包括船上能源。我們發現我們的市場定價具有競爭力。當然，就像它不是一個一樣——我不會指出一個單一的價格單位或單位點。但是，是的，我們認為總體而言，定價相當有競爭力，這是與客戶對話的重要組成部分。

Yes. And let me add, Jonathan, that we feel that the strategy we've been putting forward is working very well, like vertical integration for some components, including the batteries we'll be manufacturing later this year, this is key, and this is working very well. So while you see some of those OEMs, the only way that they can make up for the price increase they're seeing is increasing the selling price. Well, we see that our cost-out program is working very, very well. So right now, we have been able to do that, maintaining our margins without any price increase. So we were saying this last year, that our strategy, I mean, this is the way it's working, and right now, with the cost pressure, we see that this is working very well.

是的。讓我補充一點，喬納森，我們認為我們一直提出的策略非常有效，例如某些組件的垂直整合，包括我們將在今年稍後生產的電池，這是關鍵，這是工作得很好。因此，當你看到其中一些原始設備製造商時，他們彌補價格上漲的唯一方法就是提高售價。嗯，我們看到我們的成本支出計劃運作得非常非常好。所以現在，我們已經能夠做到這一點，在沒有任何價格上漲的情況下保持我們的利潤。所以我們去年就說過，我們的策略，我的意思是，這就是它的運作方式，而現在，在成本壓力下，我們看到這運作得非常好。

Okay. And last question, on the production capacity, I know you're at about 2/3 of run rate now. Do you have any guidance for us on the 2 new facilities when those come online in the second half, what portion of capacity will come online in the second half or just guidance on the fixed expenses we should be thinking about as we compare cash outflow to your liquidity?

好的。最後一個問題，關於生產能力，我知道您現在的運行率約為 2/3。您對下半年投產的 2 個新設施有什麼指引嗎？

Yes. We're -- the way we are ramping up basically the manufacturing equipment will be in place, like if I'm talking about the battery factory, it will be 5 gigawatt hour manufacturing capacity. Obviously, it's not day 1, like it's a ramp-up of this manufacturing capacity, but most of the equipment will be installed on a very short-term basis to get to that capacity, but not all of it, and we will need to ramp up the labor as well. So we will be smart about the way we will be ramping up because we're cost-conscious as well. And we're doing exactly the same thing in Joliet. We will start with the buses, because most of the order book right now is with buses. So the first vehicles we will be manufacturing in the second half of this year, we will start with the buses and then we will start receiving by the end of this year, the equipment for the trucks as well and then we will ramp up our manufacturing capacity according to the orders that are coming in.

是的。我們的方式基本上是，製造設備將就位，就像我談論的電池工廠一樣，它將達到 5 吉瓦時的製造能力。顯然，這不是第一天，就像製造能力的提升一樣，但大多數設備將在非常短期的基礎上安裝以達到該能力，但不是全部，我們需要也增加勞動力。因此，我們會明智地選擇我們的擴張方式，因為我們也具有成本意識。我們在喬利埃特也做了同樣的事情。我們將從巴士開始，因為現在大部分訂單都是巴士。因此，我們將在今年下半年生產第一批車輛，我們將從巴士開始，然後我們將在今年年底開始接收卡車設備，然後我們將加大生產力度產能根據收到的訂單而定。

Yes. Let me just add on the -- on just the fixed expense. What -- you probably saw a big increase in the lease liabilities and the right-of-use assets on our balance sheet that's related to Joliet. The lease there is slightly over $4 million for the first year. Obviously, there's some OpEx that comes with that, and Marc mentioned will be gradual in terms of bringing the bulk of the workforce at that time or close to the time of production.

是的。讓我補充一下固定費用。你可能會看到我們的資產負債表上與喬利埃特相關的租賃負債和使用權資產大幅增加。第一年的租金略高於 400 萬美元。顯然，隨之而來的是一些營運支出，馬克提到，在當時或接近生產時，將逐步引入大部分勞動力。

Okay. And so no comments at this point on the fixed portion of cost of sales and OpEx and how that would -- the rest of the OpEx and how we should think about the ramp curve for that?

好的。因此，目前還沒有關於銷售成本和營運支出的固定部分以及這將如何 - 營運支出的其餘部分以及我們應該如何考慮其斜坡曲線的評論？

No additional comments on that. No.

對此沒有額外評論。不。

That's fine.

沒關係。

Your final question comes from Michael Glen with Raymond James.

你的最後一個問題來自邁克爾·格倫和雷蒙德·詹姆斯。

I just want to go back to an earlier comment. You -- I think you indicated that you have 3,000 batteries on hand, is that what was indicated?

我只想回到之前的評論。你——我想你說過你手邊有 3,000 顆電池，是這樣說的嗎？

That's correct. Yes.

這是正確的。是的。

So is that -- you have 3 years of supply then of batteries? I'm just trying to understand holding that much inventory on batteries.

那麼，你們有 3 年的電池供應嗎？我只是想了解持有這麼多電池庫存。

No. It's really the number of batteries in general, I think a school bus in sort of 3 to 4 batteries and the truck can be as many as 8 batteries, right? So it's really -- yes. So it's not 3,000 vehicles. It's really the number of batteries. That said, we're going to continue to receive more shipments in batteries, and it's something that is really critical component that we can't be short of.

不是。所以這確實是——是的。所以不是 3,000 輛車。其實就是電池的數量。也就是說，我們將繼續收到更多的電池出貨量，這是我們不能缺少的真正關鍵的組件。

Okay. And when you were entering -- when you're having the negotiations with the cell manufacturers are -- what are their requirements? Are they asking for take-or-pay commitments, like how -- what are you seeing in terms of pricing? Do you still see yourself an attractive position to purchase cells or is capacity getting constrained there?

好的。當你進入時——當你與電池製造商進行談判時——他們的要求是什麼？他們是否要求做出照付不議的承諾，例如您在定價方面有何看法？您是否仍然認為自己在購買電池方面具有吸引力，或者產能是否受到限制？

No, we do -- we do, Michael, I think we feel the strategy we've taken so far is the right one. When you're buying packs or you're buying modules, you're fully captive to your supplier, when you're buying at the cell level, you're almost agnostic to the cell supplier. So, yes, active negotiations with many, many cell suppliers. The good thing is that we can have several cell suppliers. So the -- it's a 21,700 as you know. And yes, well, depending on who is the supplier, different requests and those are exactly the items we're negotiating right now.

不，我們願意——我們願意，邁克爾，我認為我們認為迄今為止採取的策略是正確的。當您購買電池組或模組時，您完全受制於供應商，而當您在電池層級購買時，您幾乎對電池供應商一無所知。所以，是的，與許多許多電池供應商積極談判。好處是我們可以擁有多家電池供應商。如您所知，這是 21,700。是的，好吧，取決於供應商是誰、不同的要求，而這些正是我們現在正在談判的項目。

Okay. And the $215 million number you gave earlier for the capital spend on the projects, what would be the working capital estimate for the coming year?

好的。您之前給出的專案資本支出為 2.15 億美元，來年的營運資本預計是多少？

I'm not sure. There's no working capital as part of $215 million. If anything, some of it may...

我不知道。 2.15 億美元中沒有營運資金。如果有的話，其中一些可能...

No, I understand that. Just like the -- your working capital forecast, like your working capital investment that will be required for the year?

不，我明白。就像您的營運資本預測，例如您今年所需的營運資本投資？

Yes, that's not a figure we'll be providing, Michael. We're going to continue to increase for sort of got to invest in working capital. At some point, that investment is going to go down and certainly relative to the sales, that's the intention, but it's -- I won't be providing a specific figure on that.

是的，邁克爾，我們不會提供這個數字。我們將繼續增加對營運資金的投資。在某些時候，投資將會下降，當然相對於銷售額而言，這是我們的意圖，但我不會提供具體的數字。

Okay. That's all of my questions.

好的。這就是我的所有問題。

Okay. Your final question is from Mark Neville with Scotiabank.

好的。最後一個問題來自豐業銀行的馬克·內維爾。

So for 2022, the capital budget, $215 million for the projects. Have you given the number for investment in intangibles and R&D, it's pretty significant I think?

因此，2022 年專案的資本預算為 2.15 億美元。您是否給出了無形資產和研發投資的數字，我認為這非常重要？

Yes, no, that is not a number we're providing guidance on. Recall it, in 2021, we invested about $45 million there, but won't be providing guidance on that for you.

是的，不，這不是我們提供指導的數字。回想一下，2021 年，我們在那裡投資了約 4500 萬美元，但不會為您提供這方面的指導。

Okay. It is $45 million in 2021, that was a number that you disclosed, sorry?

好的。 2021 年是 4500 萬美元，這是您透露的數字，抱歉？

Yes.

是的。

Okay. And I guess just on understanding correctly the deliveries, there's 1,000 units in the backlog that sort of are set to be delivered this year. In Q1, you're -- it sounds like you're expecting to produce to deliver roughly, I think 60 or 70 whatever you did in Q4. If assuming you couldn't deliver those units in 2022, is there any penalty that you're sort of required to pay?

好的。我猜想，只要正確理解交付情況，積壓訂單中就有 1,000 件預計今年交付。在第一季度，聽起來你希望生產大約 60 或 70 的產品，無論你在第四季度做了什麼。如果假設您無法在 2022 年交付這些單位，您是否需要支付任何罰款？

Yes. Mark, in most of the cases, I mean, no, I mean we will be good. Some of them are being funded by -- well, one example will be the HVIP. And there are some dates of delivering at some point, but it's -- I will say it's kind of minor in the order book that we have. So the answer to your question is, yes, for some units, but not very significant.

是的。馬克，在大多數情況下，我的意思是，不，我的意思是我們會很好。其中一些是由 HVIP 資助的。在某些時候有一些交貨日期，但我會說這在我們的訂單簿中是次要的。所以你的問題的答案是，對某些單位來說是的，但不是很重要。

Sure. And just on the -- your pricing strategy, just given the inflationary environment, I'm just curious sort of why not sort of put some price increases through. I'm sure, again, in most companies I think you're doing it. It feels like an easy environment to do so. So just I guess I'm just curious why not?

當然。就你們的定價策略而言，考慮到通膨環境，我只是好奇為什麼不提高一些價格。我再次確信，在大多數公司中，我認為你正在這樣做。感覺這是一個輕鬆的環境。所以我想我只是好奇為什麼不呢？

Because I mean we're maintaining our margins without doing it, Mark, I mean, no reason to do that. And I think that's basically the payback for everything we've been doing in the past with the whole strategy of procurement, vertical integration as well, purpose-built. Also, everything we've been saying for years that is the right way to do things. We see that the proof is in the pudding and this is exactly what is happening right now. So while the other we have that no choice than increasing their selling price. Well, I mean, so far, I mean, we have been able to cope with this increase. So now we feel it's only proving that we've been doing the right thing for many, many years.

因為我的意思是，我們在不這樣做的情況下維持了我們的利潤，馬克，我的意思是，沒有理由這樣做。我認為這基本上是我們過去所做的一切的回報，包括整個採購策略、垂直整合以及專門製定的策略。此外，我們多年來一直所說的一切都是正確的做事方式。我們看到證據就在布丁中，而這正是現在正在發生的事情。因此，而其他人除了提高售價外別無選擇。嗯，我的意思是，到目前為止，我們已經能夠應對這種增長。所以現在我們覺得這只是證明我們多年來一直在做正確的事情。

Yes, okay. Just on the Lion Financing Solutions, you talked about just using a third-party to help with the upfront cost. I mean do you have a vendor in place?

是的，好的。就在獅子融資解決方案中，您談到了僅使用第三方來幫助支付前期成本。我的意思是你們有供應商嗎？

Do we have a what, sorry, a vendor, yes. So I think of third parties and not just a third-party, the idea is that we're going to look to have partnerships on sort of the sort of upstream, if you will, to get to develop the solutions in a programmatic way and then downstream use it as part of selling tool, right, as opposed to today, where it's more of a -- on a referral basis, it will be packaged in the selling tool and the toolkit that the sales force has. So we are speaking to various parties in this regard and expect more to come throughout the year.

抱歉，我們有供應商嗎？因此，我想到了第三方，而不僅僅是第三方，我們的想法是，如果願意的話，我們將尋求在上游建立合作夥伴關係，以便以編程方式開發解決方案，並且然後下游將其用作銷售工具的一部分，與今天相反，在建議的基礎上，它將被打包在銷售工具和銷售人員擁有的工具包中。因此，我們正在與各方討論這方面的問題，並預計今年會有更多進展。

Okay. And can you remind me, this the STC order, is that in the current backlog?

好的。您能否提醒我，這是 STC 訂單，是否在目前的積壓訂單中？

Which one you said, Mark, the STC?

馬克，你說的是哪一個，STC？

Yes.

是的。

The Student Transportation of Canada?

加拿大的學生交通？

Yes. Yes.

是的。是的。

Well, that's in the order book for 1,000 units. Yes.

嗯，這是 1,000 台的訂單。是的。

Yes. Okay, okay, okay. Okay, I think I'll leave it there.

是的。好吧，好吧，好吧。好吧，我想我會把它留在那裡。

At this time, there are no questions. I would like to turn the call over for closing remarks.

此時，沒有任何疑問。我想將會議轉交以供結束語。

Thank you, operator, and thanks, everyone, for joining the call. We look forward to continuing the discussion with you, and feel free to contact me if you have any further questions. Have a nice day.

謝謝接線員，也謝謝大家加入通話。我們期待與您繼續討論，如果您有任何其他問題，請隨時與我聯繫。祝你今天過得愉快。

This concludes today's conference. You may now disconnect.

今天的會議到此結束。您現在可以斷開連線。