US EV startup Lordstown announced in mid-November last year that the delivery of its electric pickup truck “Endurance” would be delayed due to component shortages and supply chain challenges. However, the pickup truck has recently re-entered development and is currently in the pre-production phase thanks to the help of Foxconn.
Foxconn Chairman Young Liu informed the foreign media that the electric pickup truck will begin shipment starting from second half of 2022. Foxconn acquired the Ohio plant of Lordstown last year for US$230 million that will be used to produce Endurance, as well as EVs for Fisker.
Lordstown has experienced a rather bumpy ride when it comes to its EV production. The short-selling of Endurance orders that was exposed last year had resulted in the successive resigning of CEO Steve Burns and CFO Julio Rodriguez, which also led to an intervention and investigation by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Lordstown officially signed the purchase agreement for its Ohio plant with Foxconn during November last year, and the share price of the startup surged by nearly 24% on that day. However, due to component shortages and issues from the supply chain, Lordstown’s share price took a downward plunge at closing after announcing that the mass production and delivery schedule for Endurance will be postponed from the second quarter of 2022 to the third quarter of the same year.
With that being said, Lordstown seems to be developing with its own pace after a series of turmoil. According to the official Facebook post of Lordstown, multiple units of the white Endurance model are now on the production line thanks to Foxconn. “Our pre-production vehicles are rolling out of assembly and into diverse testing environments,” it said. “This will enable us to both prove and refine the durability, connectivity, and maneuverability of our vehicles as well as additional performance criteria for our fleet customers.”
(Cover photo source: Lordstown Motors)