(Bloomberg) -- Electric truck and bus manufacturer Lion Electric Co. surged 11% after it announced a record number of deliveries in the third quarter.

The company, based in Saint-Jerome, Quebec, northwest of Montreal, delivered 156 vehicles, nearly a fourfold increase the same period last year. But the company must speed up production if it’s going to capitalize on an order book of 2,408 vehicles, valued at $575 million. 

“The market is saying that we are extremely advanced, extremely credible and we have vertical integration which is absolutely fantastic,” Chief Executive Officer Marc Bedard said in an interview. 

The company lost $17.2 million, a smaller loss than the $20.5 million expected by analysts. Major investments are critical to increase production capacity, Bedard said, but he wouldn’t provide guidance on a timeline to profitability. 

It has been a difficult year for electric-vehicle makers, with investors turning a cold shoulder to unprofitable firms that require a lot of capital before they start producing cash. The Bloomberg Electric Vehicles Price Return Index has fallen 30% this year; even after yesterday’s rise, Lion Electric is still down 64% year-to-date. 

Lion Electric recently started production of electric buses in a new facility in Joliet, Illinois and a battery-manufacturing plant will open in December in Mirabel, Quebec. Total estimated capacity may eventually go as high as 22,500 vehicles per year. 

“Lion is really ramping up,” said Gregory Tretiak, chief financial officer of Power Corp. of Canada, which is the company’s largest shareholder with a 35% stake, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec, Canada’s second-largest pension fund, committed to its first investment in Lion Electric this week by joining Finalta Capital on a new credit facility of C$30 million ($22.5 million). “It’s not an emergency aid,” explained Bedard. “It’s complementary to our line of credit.”

(Corrects CEO’s name.)

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