Lordstown Motors shares sink on underwhelming production plans, uncertainty around Foxconn deal
Lordstown Motors gave rides in prototypes of its upcoming electric Endurance pickup truck on June 21, 2021 as part of its “Lordstown Week” event.
Michael Wayland / CNBC
Embattled electric vehicle start-up Lordstown Motors expects to produce and sell up to only 3,000 vehicles through next year, the company announced Monday.
Those plans include 500 vehicles this year once retail production is slated to begin in the third quarter – a year later than expectations of when the company went public through a special purpose acquisition company in October 2020.
The production and sales are far below the amount former management sold investors on while the company was going public. Lordstown initially expected to build 2,000 Endurance pickups in its first year, followed by 32,0000 units during the first full year of production.
Shares of the pre-revenue company dropped by more than 15% during Monday morning trading. Shares of the company closed Friday at $3.21 a share, up by 2.2%.
Lordstown Motors announced the production forecast as part of reporting its fourth-quarter results. Net loss widened for the company to $81.2 million in the fourth quarter as the automaker said it incurred a total of $115 million in expenses.
Company executives said they need to raise about $250 million this year for its business operations, including tooling to produce the vehicle.
Lordstown Motors CEO Dan Ninivaggi said the company will initially only sell vehicles to a small amount of pre-selected businesses. The company still needs some regulatory certifications before it can put its vehicles on sale.
The aspiring automaker initially planned to produce the Endurance pickup internally at an Ohio plant it purchased from General Motors.
But following an executive shakeup and amid ongoing concerns that the company could run out of cash, Lordstown Motors announced a deal to sell the plant to iPhone maker Foxconn for $230 million in November. The deal, which includes Foxconn producing the Endurance pickup, has not been finalized.
Lordstown Motors and Foxconn also are in negotiations about a potential joint development of future vehicles. Executives characterized the deal Monday as “an important component” for Lordstowns’ future success.
“We need to bring that to a conclusion and I’m hopeful we’ll get there,” Ninivaggi said Monday.
