Lordstown expects to sell 500 Endurance electric trucks even as costs surge

Provide chain issues have contributed to productions delays for the Endurance electrical pickup truck.
AFP by way of Getty Pictures

Electrical car startup Lordstown Motors stated on Monday it plans to promote its first 500 Endurance electrical pickup vehicles this yr whilst bills associated to the launch surged within the fourth quarter, sending its shares down 16%.

The corporate, when it went public underneath the earlier administration, had beforehand forecast gross sales of about 32,000 automobiles within the first full yr of manufacturing.

Goldman Sachs analyst Mark Delaney stated the goal of 500 automobiles was “effectively under” Avenue estimates and had primarily based his income estimates primarily based on 2,250 deliveries in 2022 and 10,000 models in 2023.

The Ohio-based startup had delayed the launch of the brand new electrical truck by three months as a result of supply-chain points and has by no means offered a car and didn't report any income within the fourth quarter. 

Legacy automakers have made a drastic shift to give attention to electrical automobiles as demand will increase, whereas startup firms are gearing for brand spanking new launches this yr, making competitors extra intense as they attempt to tackle trade chief Tesla.

Lordstown is spending closely to launch its first truck that can rival with Ford and Common Motor’s new electrical vehicles, additionally anticipated to hit the market this yr. It expects to extend manufacturing five-fold by 2023.

The corporate goals to rival auto giants like Ford Motor.

Bloomberg by way of Getty Pictures

The corporate’s Chief Government Officer Dan Ninivaggi — who changed Chief Government Steve Burns after his resignation in 2021 — stated the price of supplies and elements at launch shall be considerably larger than the car’s anticipated promoting value however would enhance over time.

For the fourth quarter, internet loss widened to $81.2 million because it incurred a complete of $115 million in bills, some associated to the industrial launch of Endurance.

Lordstown can also be in discussions with Taiwanese know-how firm Foxconn Expertise to develop automobiles and has thought-about options to lift capital for the partnership.