Lordstown Motors

Lordstown Motors is a commercial EV manufacturer based out of the former General Motors (GM) factory Lordstown Assembly in Ohio. The company acquired the facility from GM for USD 20 million in December 2019.

Lordstown’s flagship product is an electric pickup truck called the Endurance, with a 7,500-pound towing capacity and a 250-mile range. Lordstown announced that it had received over 100,000 pre-orders for its pickup truck in January 2021. The company was later accused by the short seller Hindenburg Research that these pre-orders were ​​​​fictitious. Lordstown refuted the allegations but stated that the pre-orders were not binding. 

Lordstown sold its Lordstown Assembly facility to Foxconn for USD 230 million in November 2021. The deal was expected to overcome the company’s solvency issues. Following the deal, Foxconn would provide contract manufacturing for Lordstown’s electric pickup truck at the same facility. Production was expected to begin in Q3 2022. Nevertheless, in May 2022, Lordstown stated that it requires additional USD 150 million to commence production even after the sale. 

In September 2022, Lordstown Motors commenced commercial production of its Endurance truck and began deliveries in November 2022 . The company targets to produce approximately 500 units by H1 2023 (had produced 12 vehicles by September 2022).

Funding and financials

Lordstown was listed on Nasdaq through a SPAC merger in October 2020. The deal raised USD 675 million at a valuation of USD 1.6 billion. The proceeds were to be used to fund the production of the Endurance. In November 2022 , the company received USD 170 million from Foxconn to develop and design a new EV in collaboration with Foxconn and to support its corporate expenses.

In June 2023 , the company filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code after failing to resolve its dispute with its production partner, Foxconn Technology Group, regarding a previously agreed investment. In January 2024 , the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a claim on Lordstown Motors for USD 45 million for alleged violation of federal securities laws.