Lordstown Motors Begins Shipping Endurance EV Pickup To Customers
After delays and troubles, the Lordstown truck is finally on its way.
The Lordstown Endurance has had a troubled past, but the brand finally received full EPA and CARB homologation and approval for its trucks. The first batch of trucks has left the Foxconn-operated Lordstown, Ohio former GM plant, headed to customers.
Honestly, it’s a little hard to believe that this day would ever come. The brand has been talking about its EV pickup since its formation and a spin-off from commercial vehicle maker, Workhorse Motors. Lordstown Motors purchased a former GM manufacturing plant, with plans to produce its full-sized pickup. Lordstown Motors ended up having financial woes, which severely delayed the production of the pickup. Chinese manufacturer Foxconn, entered into a partnership with Lordstown Motors, giving the brand some needed cash and support to finally finish the truck and get them out of the door.
Lordstown Motors says that “production volume will ramp slowly and accelerate as we resolve supply chain constraints,” meaning the brand will hit produce 50 by the end of the year, eventually hitting the full first 500 trucks by June 2023. The brand also announced its excitement about being a finalist in the North American Truck of the Year competition.
When the Lordstown Endurance was initially conceived, it had the potential to be the first EV truck on sale. Yet, after delays, it appears that the Lordstown Endurance has very stiff competition from established OEMs and EV startups. The Endurance truck has a 109 kWh battery, feeding energy to four in-hub wheel motors that generate 550 peak horsepower. Is that enough to go toe to toe with the Rivian R1T or Ford F-150 Lightning? Only time will tell.
Become an AutoGuide insider. Get the latest from the automotive world first by subscribing to our newsletter here
Kevin has been obsessed with cars ever since he could talk. He even learned to read partially by learning and reading the makes and models on the back of cars, only fueling his obsession. Today, he is an automotive journalist and member of the Automotive Press Association. He is well-versed in electrification, hybrid cars, and vehicle maintenance.
More by Kevin Williams
Comments
Join the conversation
The Endurance is being marketed directly to commercial fleets. It was designed from the ground up to be a fleet vehicle. It was designed for low/easy maintenance. It will not be competing with the Rivian R1T or the F-150 Lightning. The R1T is not marketed at all towards commercial fleets and it's unlikely that Ford will be making many of the 'Pro' versions of the Lightning. The margins on the F-150 'Pro' are MUCH lower than the higher end versions of the Lightning, so it's unlikely Ford will be making many of them. Also, even for ICE vehicles fleet managers have been told that fleet vehicles will be allocated and they should only expect to be able to order 60% of the fleet vehicles they have received in the past. This is after 2 years fleets have not been able to order sufficient vehicles. Lordstown Motors will be able to sell every vehicle they can build. Their problem is that they need additional tooling to be able to make them with positive margins.