Because it continues to hunt an answer to the difficulty that led to February’s manufacturing halt and voluntary recall of its Endurance full-size electrical truck, Lordstown Motors has introduced a next-generation platform and car program.
Lordstown on Monday stated it’s working with contract producer Foxconn to develop the platform and a brand new industrial car. The Ohio-based EV startup described the platform and car as “key” to its long-term enterprise technique and stated they have been changing into a “higher portion” of its focus.
The announcement comes at a time Lordstown says it doubts it might “proceed as a going concern” except its will get “considerably extra” capital to develop its subsequent EV. It should additionally want extra money to mass produce its Endurance truck past the five hundred models already deliberate.
The brand new car’s platform is deliberate to be derived from Foxconn’s modular EV platform referred to as the MIH, which was first proven in 2020. Lordstown stated its new car will probably supply elements and subsystems from Foxconn and different suppliers linked to the MIH platform.
Foxconn, whereas finest recognized for being the producer of Apple’s iPhones, has in recent times been shifting into automobile improvement and manufacturing. It has additionally launched its personal EV model, Foxtron, and final yr previewed a handful of fashions for the model, together with a mid-size electrical truck referred to as the Mannequin V.
Foxtron Mannequin V
“Our asset-light enterprise mannequin and collaboration with the Foxconn EV ecosystem, together with MIH, will present the chance for Lordstown Motors to create successful EVs which can be tailor-made to the wants of consumers that use them for varied work functions, whereas gaining the associated fee advantages of scale,” Edward Hightower, Lordstown’s CEO, stated in an announcement.
Timing for the brand new car wasn’t talked about in Monday’s announcement. Nonetheless, Lordstown confirmed manufacturing will happen on the Ohio plant the corporate purchased from Common Motors in 2019, and bought to Foxconn in 2021. The plant is the place Foxconn constructed the primary few examples of the Endurance underneath contract, earlier than manufacturing was halted attributable to {an electrical} concern found in among the accomplished vans.
In its announcement, Lordstown stated it has a “line of sight to the decision of the difficulty” and expects to supply an replace within the coming weeks on when manufacturing and deliveries of the Endurance will resume. Lordstown stated 40 Endurance vans out of a deliberate preliminary batch of 500 vans had been constructed via February, of which six had been bought.