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Lordstown has filed for bankruptcy two years after the company began facing financial stress, and just months after it began production of its electric pick-up.
Just seven months after US customers began taking delivery of their pick-ups, new electric-vehicle manufacturer Lordstown has filed for bankruptcy.
Lordstown – named after the city where the factory is located – announced in recent weeks it would sue Taiwanese company Foxconn for allegedly failing to follow through on a promise of additional investment, news outlet Reuters reports.
While it currently has an 8.4 per cent stake in Lordstown, Foxconn – the world’s largest technology manufacturer, responsible for assembling the Apple iPhone – had promised significantly greater financial support, according to Lordstown.
The US pick-up company accused Foxconn of paying $US52.7 million ($AU79 million) of an agreed $US170 million ($AU255 million) investment – or 31 per cent of the promised funds, it claims.
June 2021 was a turbulent month for the start-up, with founder and CEO Steve Burns resigning, along with company CFO Julio Rodriguez.
Launched in 2018, Lordstown took over a former General Motors small-car plant in an effort to rejuvenate manufacturing in the town, taking until late 2022 for the first 500 examples of the Endurance electric pick-up rolling off the production line.
The Endurance used four in-wheel electric motors to produce a combined 410kW, powered by a 109kWh battery for a claimed range of 280 kilometres in US EPA testing.
Lordstown is the latest electric-vehicle start-up to struggle in recent times, with both Rivian and Nikola facing difficulties as the businesses attempt to get off the ground.
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