Lordstown Motors begins making just a few electrical vans at Ohio plant

LORDSTOWN, Ohio  — Business electrical automobile startup Lordstown Motors says it has slowly began manufacturing of its first mannequin, the Endurance pickup.

The struggling firm says it has constructed two manufacturing pickups, with a 3rd to be completed shortly. It plans to ramp up relying on high quality and components availability, it mentioned in an announcement Thursday. Lordstown expects to ship 50 vans to clients this yr, and as much as 450 extra within the first half of 2023, so long as it might probably elevate sufficient capital.

The vans are being in-built an previous Normal Motors small-car meeting plant in Lordstown, Ohio, close to Cleveland that was bought final yr by Taiwan’s Foxconn Expertise Group, the world’s largest electronics maker. Lordstown says it should look to Foxconn and different partnerships as sources of recent capital.

“We count on to extend the velocity of manufacturing into November and December,” CEO Edward Hightower mentioned within the assertion. Earlier this yr, Lordstown mentioned it anticipated to provide 3,000 of its flagship Endurance electrical vans earlier than the top of 2023.

The corporate has struggled to lift cash and get vans out the manufacturing facility door to clients. In its quarterly filings with the U.S. Securities and Change Fee, its auditors elevate doubts that the automaker can be in enterprise within the coming yr.

Lordstown Motors mentioned it expects to finish the third quarter with about $195 million in money and equivalents, together with $27.1 million from fairness gross sales in the course of the quarter. The corporate says its money outlook is $75 million higher than its earlier outlook because it explores choices to lift extra money.

Shares of Lordstown Motors fell 6% to $1.90 in Thursday morning buying and selling amid broader market declines.