Lordstown Motors begins manufacturing electric trucks

LORDSTOWN, Ohio — Commercial electric vehicle startup Lordstown Motors says it has slowly begun production of its first model, the Endurance pickup truck.

The the company is struggling says it has built two pickup trucks, and a third will be completed soon. It plans to ramp up production depending on quality and parts availability, it said in a statement on Thursday. Lordstown expects to deliver 50 trucks to customers this year and up to 450 more in the first half of 2023 if it can raise enough capital.

The trucks are made at General Motors’ old small car assembly plant in Lordstown, Ohio, near Cleveland, which was purchased last year by Taiwan’s Foxconn Technology Group, the world’s largest electronics maker. Lordstown says it will look to Foxconn and other partnerships as sources of new capital.

“We expect production rates to pick up in November and December,” CEO Edward Hightower said in a statement. Lordstown said earlier this year that it plans to produce 3,000 of its flagship electric Endurance trucks by the end of 2023.

The company struggled to raise money and get trucks from the factory to customers. In its quarterly filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, its auditors expressed doubt that the automaker will be in business next year.

Lordstown Motors said it expects to end the third quarter with about $195 million in cash and cash equivalents, including $27.1 million from the sale of stock during the quarter. The company says its $75 million cash outlook is better than its previous outlook as it explores opportunities to raise more cash.

Shares of Lordstown Motors fell 6% to $1.90 in morning trading Thursday amid a broader market decline.