Lordstown Motors gave rides in prototypes of its upcoming electrical Endurance pickup truck on June 21, 2021 as a part of its “Lordstown Week” occasion.
Michael Wayland / CNBC
Lordstown Motors stated Thursday it’ll droop manufacturing and deliveries of its all-electric Endurance pickup to handle efficiency and high quality points with sure parts.
The electrical car startup, which partnered with Foxconn for car manufacturing at an Ohio plant, stated the group is working with suppliers on the foundation trigger evaluation of every situation and potential options, which “in some circumstances could embody half design modifications, retrofits, and software program updates.”
The automaker additionally will voluntarily recall 19 Endurance pickups to handle a “particular electrical connection situation that would lead to a lack of propulsion whereas driving.” Lordstown stated it’s working with suppliers to implement an answer that the corporate believes will handle the difficulty.
Shares of Lordstown, which went public by way of a particular function acquisition firm in 2020, had been down about 9% to about $1 in early buying and selling Thursday. It is a far cry from the inventory’s all-time excessive of $31.80 a share in September 2020.
Colleen Robar, a spokeswoman for Lordstown, stated the corporate is unaware of any accidents related to the recalled automobiles. She declined to reveal what number of automobiles in whole the corporate has produced and delivered to prospects since manufacturing started in September.
As of Jan. 3, the corporate had produced 31 automobiles on the market and delivered six of these to prospects, Lordstown stated in a regulatory filing final month.
Robar confirmed the issues haven’t resulted in any fires, like a battery issue earlier this month with an electrical Ford F-150 Lightning pickup.
“Whereas our skilled group has made important progress in addressing the underlying element and car sub-system points affecting the Endurance construct schedule, we stay dedicated to doing the precise factor by our prospects and to resolve potential points earlier than resuming manufacturing and buyer shipments,” stated Lordstown CEO Edward Hightower said in a release.
The corporate declined to forecast how lengthy manufacturing will likely be idled on the Ohio plant, which Lordstown bought from Normal Motors in 2019.
The corporate plans to offer a extra detailed replace on the standing of those points on its upcoming earnings name on March 6.
The recall and manufacturing issues add to a protracted checklist of points at Lordstown for the reason that firm went public practically two and a half years in the past. It has been stricken by administration, manufacturing and execution points.
Automakers routinely have points and remembers related to automobiles however issues with EVs, particularly batteries, are of specific concern and curiosity, because the automakers make investments billions of {dollars} within the automobiles.
