Lordstown turns focus to future EV based on Foxconn platform

As it continues to seek a solution to the issue that led to February’s production halt and voluntary recall of its Endurance full-size electric truck, Lordstown Motors has announced a next-generation platform and vehicle program.

Lordstown on Monday said it is working with contract manufacturer Foxconn to develop the platform and a new commercial vehicle. The Ohio-based EV startup described the platform and vehicle as “key” to its long-term business strategy and said they were becoming a “greater portion” of its focus.

The announcement comes at a time Lordstown says it doubts it can “continue as a going concern” unless its gets “significantly more” capital to develop its next EV. It will also need more money to mass produce its Endurance truck beyond the 500 units already planned.

The new vehicle’s platform is planned to be derived from Foxconn’s modular EV platform known as the MIH, which was first shown in 2020. Lordstown said its new vehicle will likely source components and subsystems from Foxconn and other suppliers connected to the MIH platform.

Foxconn, while best known for being the manufacturer of Apple’s iPhones, has in recent years been moving into car development and production. It has also launched its own EV brand, Foxtron, and last year previewed a handful of models for the brand, including a mid-size electric truck called the Model V.

Foxtron Model V

“Our asset-light business model and collaboration with the Foxconn EV ecosystem, including MIH, will provide the opportunity for Lordstown Motors to create winning EVs that are tailored to the needs of customers that use them for various work applications, while gaining the cost benefits of scale,” Edward Hightower, Lordstown’s CEO, said in a statement.

Timing for the new vehicle wasn’t mentioned in Monday’s announcement. However, Lordstown confirmed production will take place at the Ohio plant the company bought from General Motors in 2019, and sold to Foxconn in 2021. The plant is where Foxconn built the first few examples of the Endurance under contract, before production was halted due to an electrical issue discovered in some of the completed trucks.

In its announcement, Lordstown said it has a “line of sight to the resolution of the issue” and expects to provide an update in the coming weeks on when production and deliveries of the Endurance will resume. Lordstown said 40 Endurance trucks out of a planned initial batch of 500 trucks had been built through February, of which six had been sold.