Ohio-based Lordstown Motors has confirmed that it has temporarily stopped production and deliveries of its all-electric Endurance pickup truck.
Per Reuters, the previously GM-backed startup claims the shutdown is due to performance and quality issues with certain components. The report did not elaborate further. Nor did it state when the production line would be back online.
Not surprisingly, Lordstown shares dropped following the announcement, this time by 11.8%, as of Thursday morning. At the same time, Lordstown confirmed it would recall 19 vehicles already delivered to customers or being used internally. However, the truck maker has only produced 31 examples that are available for sale.
The initial goal was to deliver 50 trucks last year and a lot more this year. The first 500 units began production last September and were fully homologated for US market sales in November.
Last May, Lordstown signed a deal with iPhone maker Foxconn that saw the latter take ownership of the Ohio assembly plant for $230 million. That was the first good news Lordstown had for several months following revelations that now-former CEO Steve Burns was involved in faking the number of pre-orders it had received. In April 2021, the company was caught not paying its taxes.
The saga of Lordstown Motors is far from over, and it's pretty clear its existence has been anything but smooth sailing. There was a time when Lordstown was seen as a potentially major player in the all-electric pickup truck space for fleet sales and private ownership. Its long list of troubles and the production challenges it has yet to resolve have significantly reduced its influence.
Detroit's legacy automakers have used their time wisely to gear their EV trucks up for production. The Ford F-150 Lightning has been on sale for quite some time, and next fall, the first batch of Chevrolet Silverado EVs is due to arrive. Earlier this month, the Ram 1500 REV was unveiled, and it's expected to be in dealers in 2024.
And then there's the long-delayed Tesla Cybertruck. Production will start by mid-year, with mass production scheduled to occur before the year's end.