Lordstown Motors released the first ad for its Endurance electric pickup truck Thursday—even though first deliveries for the truck remain about a year away.
The Endurance was designed primarily as a work vehicle aimed at fleet buyers, and the ad certainly shows that. Chock full of farmers and construction workers, the ad looks like it was created by the Detroit Three automakers to sell F-150s, Silverados, and Rams, not by a startup selling an electric vehicle.
It's unusual to see electric vehicles in what we'd otherwise classify as a very traditional, work-oriented pickup commercial.
Lordstown Motors hasn't provided much new information since what it had built up to be a reveal of its Endurance electric pickup in July—a reveal that ended up being more of a political rally than a product event.
Screenshot from Lordstown Endurance ad
That event, however, served to announce that first deliveries would be pushed back to late summer 2021—and that between pre-orders and letters of intent, 20,000 of the trucks are already spoken for.
The truck maker, based out of a former General Motors plant in its namesake Ohio town, aims to use Elaphe in-wheel motors assembled locally. So far, that is the main noteworthy technical feature of the Endurance. Four of the in-wheel motors will produce a combined 600 horsepower, and Lordstown previously quoted a 250-mile range.
Lordstown is expected to announce its battery supplier at some point soon. The company has already confirmed that it's using 2170-format cells, like the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y.
As it is, the Rivian R1T, another electric truck from a new company that will be manufactured in the Midwest, will arrive at about the same time, but with an entirely different focus—on personal use and adventure.
