Production of the Lordtown Endurance finally starts

Pick-up, 600 purely electric hp, 400-kilometre range, wheel hub motors, price around 50,000 euros.

These ingredients should actually be enough to ensure high sales, especially in pick-up-mad America.  

In addition to the financing problems that have existed since the presentation of the prototype of the "Endurance" in June 2020, Lordstown is currently also struggling with supply chain problems. The production volume will therefore only be able to be increased slowly. In the current year, 50 units are to come off the production line, and 450 units are planned for the first half of 2023. Peanuts in view of well over 100,000 pre-orders and in comparison to the production figures of competing models. Problems with homologation tests and required certifications are further slowing down the start of production. Shortseller Hindenburg Research also cast serious doubt on the accuracy of reported pre-orders in 2021.

Lordstown is struggling with tight funding. "We expect to deliver about 50 vehicles to customers in 2022, subject to raising sufficient capital," said neo-CEO Edward Hightower, who joined Lordstown in November 2021. Ex-CEO Daniel Ninivaggi has since been in charge of raising capital and partners and has scored a first success with the unusual cooperation with Foxconn. The Taiwanese contract manufacturer - for Apple, among others - bought the Lordstown plant for 230 million US dollars in November. The Endurance is also to be built at the plant. Foxconn also took over a block of shares worth 50 million US dollars.

Nevertheless, the steadily downwardly revised production figures are no recommendation for the company. When it was unveiled in June 2020, it was still assumed that 20,000 units would be produced annually. In addition, the planned starting price had to be raised from the original $52,500 to $63,500. It was only in March 2022 that US carmaker GM pulled out of cooperation with Lordstown after the partner ran into payment difficulties.