This Won’t Hertz: Quebec companies unveil electric ambulance
Lion Electric ambulance to be built in North America and expected to enter service mid-2022
Demers Ambulance, a Quebec-based builder of emergency vehicles, has teamed up with the Lion Electric Company — also out of La Belle Province — to introduce the Demers eFX. As the group’s first all-electric ambulance, it is described by the company as having been ‘designed by paramedics’ in order to provide top-rate patient care.
The vehicle is based on the 100% electric Lion5 chassis. Scheduled for commercialization in the second half of 2022, it’ll be assembled in Quebec and sold across North America, with sights set on a global rollout later in its product cycle. Traditionally-powered ambulances built by Demers are already being sold in no fewer than 43 different countries.
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Company spox boast the eFX is capable of providing more head- and legroom than other ambulances, enhancing the comfort of paramedics who tend to work long shifts in gruelling conditions. Access from the cab to the rear compartment is also said to be much wider than a traditional meat wagon, again thanks in part to the low-lying all-electric guts, permitting easier and safer access to the patient.
“It’s been five years since the teams at Lion and Demers Ambulances joined forces to develop the 100% electric ambulance we are unveiling today,” said Marc Bédard, President and Founder of Lion. “And this is just the beginning, as the Lion5 chassis developed by Lion can be used in many other types of vehicles.” In other words, expect the likes of delivery vans and other urban commercial vehicles to spring up in due course. With range concerns beginning to fade thanks to modern battery tech, fleets are starting to cite reduced maintenance and fuel costs as primary drivers to EV adoption.
Speaking of, Demers says the eFX will have an approximate range of 200 kilometres on a single charge, depending on the size of its battery pack which can range from 130 to 195kWh. Power is in the neighbourhood of 340 horses, all of which will be needed to motivate this heavy Class 5 vehicle. The so-called LiquidSpring smart suspension is apparently capable of a 3.2-inch kneel, a feature which will surely help paramedics when loading patients into the back of this thing.