Lordstown turns focus to future EV based mostly on Foxconn platform

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 automobile program.

Lordstown on Monday mentioned it’s working with contract producer Foxconn to develop the platform and a brand new business automobile. The Ohio-based EV startup described the platform and automobile as “key” to its long-term enterprise technique and mentioned they had been changing into a “larger portion” of its focus.

The announcement comes at a time Lordstown says it doubts it could possibly “proceed as a going concern” except its will get “considerably extra” capital to develop its subsequent EV. It’s going to additionally want more cash to mass produce its Endurance truck past the five hundred models already deliberate.

The brand new automobile’s platform is deliberate to be derived from Foxconn’s modular EV platform generally known as the MIH, which was first proven in 2020. Lordstown mentioned its new automobile will seemingly supply parts and subsystems from Foxconn and different suppliers linked to the MIH platform.

Foxconn, whereas finest identified for being the producer of Apple’s iPhones, has in recent times been transferring 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 profitable EVs which might be tailor-made to the wants of consumers that use them for numerous work purposes, whereas gaining the fee advantages of scale,” Edward Hightower, Lordstown’s CEO, mentioned in an announcement.

Timing for the brand new automobile wasn’t talked about in Monday’s announcement. Nonetheless, Lordstown confirmed manufacturing will happen on the Ohio plant the corporate purchased from Normal Motors in 2019, and bought to Foxconn in 2021. The plant is the place Foxconn constructed the primary few examples of the Endurance beneath contract, earlier than manufacturing was halted resulting from {an electrical} problem found in among the accomplished vans.

In its announcement, Lordstown mentioned it has a “line of sight to the decision of the difficulty” and expects to offer an replace within the coming weeks on when manufacturing and deliveries of the Endurance will resume. Lordstown mentioned 40 Endurance vans out of a deliberate preliminary batch of 500 vans had been constructed via February, of which six had been bought.