Previously known as General Motors’ Lordstown Assembly plant, the current Lordstown Motors Corporation is a potential electric vehicle automaker. It is based in Lordstown, Ohio. It is currently trading on the Nasdaq market under the ticker RIDE.
Lordstown Motors Corporation (NASDAQ: RIDE)
Founded by Stephen S. Burns in November of 2018, Lordstown Motor Corporation is a start-up company specializing in light-duty electric trucks for commercial fleet customers. Its flagship product is the Endurance, an all-electric pickup truck. Its engineering facilities are in Farmington Hills, Michigan, and its manufacturing plant is in Lordstown, Ohio.
The company has a market cap of US$381 million. According to its website, it’s “focused on developing, designing and manufacturing high-quality light duty commercial fleet vehicles.” Its marquee product is the Endurance, an all-electric pickup truck. It also has a research facility in Irvine, California, and engineering facilities in Farmington Hills, Michigan. Its website claims to serve commercial fleet customers in the United States.
The company has received many preorders for its vehicles, including the Endurance. The company plans to deliver 100,000 units by 2024. The company has an impressive staff of 600 and has launched two major initiatives: the EV Ohio Plant and the upcoming endurance electric pickup truck.
Lordstown’s agreement with the Taiwan-based company will help it stay afloat.
The Taiwanese manufacturer known as Foxconn has been a significant contributor to the local economy, so much so that it decided to bring its juggernaut above. As part of the grand bargain, the company will see its newest alums get first dibs on the latest gadgets and gizmos, not to mention the swag they can stomp on for the big lads. A significant component of the deal was the creation of a state-of-the-art EV research lab, with the best of the best being a nascent slew of test subjects. This has been a long time coming for the eagle-eyed amongst us, especially for the locals. While the lab is a well-guarded secret, severalpersonnel were allowed a peek inside the doors. The result of this bevy of geeks is the most extensive EV lab in the US, a whopping 30 million square feet of floor space.
Lordstown’s underperformance in the last year
Several investors have recently expressed concern over the underperformance of ride stock, specifically Lordstown Motors Corp. (NASDAQ: RIDE), in the past year.
Although the company’s product is a competitive, all-electric pickup truck, its performance has been disappointing. And with limited production this year, it’s unlikely that the company will hit its sales target. The company warned investors in June that it needs to raise more cash to manufacture its electric vehicles.
The SEC has launched an investigation into the company, which could negatively impacttions and its share price. In aion, the company has been impacted by a series of events that have led to a weakened position.
According to research firm Hindenburg, Lordstown Motors may have misled investors in the early days of its EV pickup truck development. The report alleged that companies without the resources to develop the product were preordering as many as 100,000 units of the EV. The company denied the claims.
Lordstown’s future
Even though Lordstown Motors stock has dropped more than 50% year to date, Wall Street is still optimistic about the future of this electric vehicle company. Nevertheless, this company is undergoing severe internal issues and needs new capital injections to complete its first production batch of 500 trucks.
The company’s flagship product is an electric pickup truck. It has completed crash tests and is waiting for certification by the EPA. It is expected to begin deliveries in the fourth quarter. In the meantime, Foxconn Technology Group, the partner of Fisker Automotive, has acquired a significant stake in Lordstown Motors.
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) will review the deal. Although the agreement will be approved, it may take up to two years for Foxconn to acquire more shares in the open market. If the US government approves the agreement, Foxconn could own up to 19.9% of the company’s voting stock.
