The Lion Electric Company, a Canadian producer of electric trucks and buses, announced on Monday its intention to become a publicly listed company through a merger with Northern Genesis Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company.

Following the merger, the resulting company will be traded on the New York Stock Exchange with a total valuation of $1.9 billion. The companies have secured $200 million through a private investment in public equity (PIPE) offering, and currently possess approximately $320 million in cash.

This transaction represents the newest instance of an electric vehicle manufacturer choosing to enter the public market via a merger with a SPAC, a strategy employed to obtain the substantial capital required for large-scale vehicle production. Several other electric vehicle companies, including Arrival, Canoo, Fisker, Lordstown Motors, and Nikola Corp., all revealed SPAC merger agreements during 2020.

For Lion Electric, the combined cash resources will be allocated to support the company’s expansion plans, specifically the construction of a manufacturing facility within the United States and the continued advancement of its battery technology. Lion is currently assessing over ten potential locations for a repurposed industrial site across nine states: California, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Wisconsin. According to a statement to TechCrunch, the company anticipates selecting a site and finalizing its industrialization strategy by year-end. Manufacturing operations at the new facility are projected to commence in early 2023.

Lion Electric currently manufactures all-electric medium and heavy-duty trucks and buses at a facility capable of producing 2,500 vehicles annually. Currently, around 300 of these vehicles are in operation, and the company intends to deliver 650 trucks and buses throughout 2021. Notably, Lion has secured a contract with Amazon to provide the online retailer with ten electric trucks for its “middle mile” delivery network.

The completion of this proposed merger is anticipated in the first quarter of 2021. Upon listing on the NYSE, Lion’s stock will trade under the ticker symbol “LEV.” Marc Bedard, the current CEO and founder of Lion Electric, will remain in his position. The board of directors for the combined company will consist of nine members, including Bedard, Pierre Larochelle of Power Sustainable as chairman, five current Lion board members, and Ian Robertson and Chris Jarratt, co-founders of Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp.