Lordstown Motors announced Monday that it had accumulated 50,000 pre-orders for its Endurance electric pickup truck, which is now scheduled to start deliveries in fall 2021, with a full production ramp-up in 2022.
The pre-orders are non-binding, and come from the commercial fleets that are Lordstown's target market. In a press release, the company said the average pre-order size is 500 vehicles per fleet, adding that it has received interest from entities that are not currently able to place pre-orders, such as federal, state, and municipal government agencies, as well as the military.
Lordstown Motors factory - 2020
Lordstown said it is currently building "Alpha 2" prototype, following a batch of "Alpha 0" vehicles. These will be followed by "Beta" prototypes, which will be built on the company's assembly line and will be used for crash testing (it claims the Endurance is capable of five-star crash ratings based on simulations) and other validation work, according to Lordstown. Some of these prototypes may also be given to customers for evaluation, the company said.
The company was created to take over a former General Motors factory in its namesake Ohio town. Trucks will roll off assembly lines that last built Chevrolet Cruze sedans and hatchbacks. Existing facilities will be augmented with a 700,000-square-foot battery pack and hub motor production facility, which is currently under construction, Lordstown said.
Lordstown Endurance
The current schedule actually represents another pushback for the product, which after its premier this summer was said to be slated for a summer 2021 arrival. Later, Lordstown plans a complementary SUV model build on the same underpinnings as the Endurance.
Lordstown recently demonstrated the strength of its in-wheel motor system, which no other production truck or passenger car has yet used, by staging a tug of war between the Endurance and a Ford F-150.
GM has invested in Lordstown—an unusual relationship as the company is using a plant that GM couldn't see as part of its all-electric future. Separately, the Detroit automaker is also partnering with LG Chem on a battery factory in the same Ohio town.
Lordstown also recently became publicly traded, so the company is under more scrutiny—and more obligation to provide periodic updates such as this.
