Lordstown will begin delivering electric pickup trucks this year, according to the chairman of Foxconn, the company that now owns the EV startup's Ohio factory.
"Electric pickups made in cooperation with Lordstown will begin shipping in the second half of this year, Young Liu said in an interview with Nikkei Asia published Sunday. He also said Foxconn's own electric bus "will hit the road" in southern Taiwan within the same timespan.
After many delays in getting its Endurance pickup ready for production, Lordstown announced in November 2021 that it had sold its former General Motors factory to Foxconn for $230 million. At the time, it said deliveries would be pushed back to the third quarter of 2022.
Lordstown Endurance
Lordstown was created to save the former GM factory in its namesake Ohio town. It unveiled what it claimed was a production-ready version of the Endurance in 2020, but has delayed the start of production multiple times, claiming numerous issues.
As part of the deal, Foxconn made an additional $50 million equity investment in Lordstown in October 2021, and Lordstown agreed to pursue a joint-venture agreement with Foxconn under which the iPhone maker is expected to act as contract manufacturer for the Endurance.
Lordstown initially pitched in-wheel hub motors as the main selling point for the Endurance and other planned vehicles. The company licensed a hub-motor design from Slovenian firm Elaphe, and had planned to manufacture motors at its own factory.
Lordstown Endurance
But CEO Daniel Ninivaggi, who replaced founding CEO Steve Burns after the latter was ousted over allegedly inflated order claims, has reportedly downplayed the importance of the technology—which Ford quickly nixed for the F-150 Lightning.
Burns has called the Lightning's launch a "watershed moment," arguing that it legitimized Lordstown's electric-truck focus. Perhaps given the tremendous demand for the Lightning, Lordstown might be able to carve its own market out of this—if it acts soon.
