Look, I’m as stunned to sort this as I’m positive you’re to learn it — however right here we’re. Lordstown Motors, the blokes who famously spent tens of millions constructing a go-fast race truck that solely went 40 miles earlier than promoting their Lordstown, Ohio manufacturing unit to Foxconn so they might construct tractors in it have, towards all odds, truly begun constructing Lordstown Endurance pickup vehicles in the outdated GM Lordstown plant.
Thus far, they’ve constructed two (2).
That’s Proper: Two.
This one and that white one, I assume? Picture by the creator.
Whereas Tesla posted information about delivering greater than 300,000 automobiles final quarter, some underappreciated scribe was toiling away on a press launch saying that Lordstown Motors had, certainly, start producing its hub-motor powered electrical pickup truck. “Lordstown is happy to announce that our first two business launch manufacturing (CRP) Endurance™ automobiles have rolled off the manufacturing line on the Foxconn EV Ohio plant,” reads the official launch, including that, “the third (is) anticipated to be accomplished shortly.”
“We’ll proceed to construct at a gradual fee as we handle remaining half pedigree and half availability points. We anticipate to extend the velocity of manufacturing into November and December,” mentioned Edward Hightower, Lordstown CEO and President. “Our homologation and certification processes are continuing as deliberate.” These certification processes embody FMVSS crash testing that has been accomplished efficiently, in addition to EPA and CARB purposes that the corporate notes have been submitted (however not but authorized). Although, being a zero emission BEV most likely means they’re doubtless sufficient to get a rubber stamp from each businesses.
The corporate claims these two (three?) vehicles are half of a bigger, 500 unit manufacturing run that can get the Foxconn-owned plant in control, with deliveries anticipated to occur inside the subsequent 6-8 months. “We anticipate to ship roughly 50 items to clients in 2022,” reads the discharge, “and the rest of the primary batch within the first half of 2023.” (Topic to elevating enough capital, after all!)
As for the Lordstown Endurance itself, I— I simply can’t, you guys. I actually, actually need to make a joke about the truth that each Lordstown Motors and Nikola have managed to get their electrical vehicles into manufacturing whereas Tesla pushes again its personal truck tasks in favor of a sketchy robotic demonstration that may have gotten laughed out of the room if anybody however Elon had been doing the demonstrating, however a complete press launch simply to say, “We constructed 2! And we’re engaged on a 3rd one!”??
It’s simply too unhappy.
Supply | Photographs: Lordstown Motors.
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