Taiwanese electronics producer Foxconn has begun manufacturing of Lordstown Motors’s electrical pickup truck.
The information, which Bloomberg grabbed first, is a milestone for each firms: Foxconn because it diversifies from manufacturing client electronics like iPhones to electrical autos, and Lordstown because it lastly will get its much-anticipated Endurance truck off manufacturing traces and, hopefully, into prospects’ palms.
Ever since going public through a particular function acquisition (SPAC) merger in 2020 — a transfer that, in hindsight, is spelling doom for most EV SPACs — Lordstown has struggled to get to manufacturing. Final summer time, the corporate issued a rising concern warning that it won’t have sufficient funds to convey its EV to market, however was bailed out by an investment firm that agreed to purchase $400 million worth of shares over a three-year interval.
The corporate additional shed some weight by promoting off its Lordstown, Ohio manufacturing unit, which it had beforehand bought from Normal Motors, to Foxconn for $230 million. Foxconn agreed to make Lordstown’s EVs for it, however the firm may also use the Ohio manufacturing unit to produce EVs for Fisker, one other EV SPAC.
The manufacturing quantity of the Endurance pickup will ramp slowly, with a slight crescendo in November and December, due to these pesky provide chain constraints, based on a statement from Lordstown. Very slowly, it appears. Up to now, two business launch manufacturing autos have rolled off Foxconn’s manufacturing line, with the third “anticipated to be accomplished shortly.” Three nearly down, 47 to go — Lordstown intends to ship about 50 models to prospects starting within the fourth quarter, and the remainder of the primary batch of 500 models within the first half of 2023, if it may well increase more cash.
That caveat is vital, and is probably one of many the reason why, regardless of this milestone, Lordstown’s shares are down 7.18% at 12:00 p.m. ET. Seems constructing electrical autos from the bottom up is extremely tough and costly, a tough reality that fellow EV SPACs Nikola and Lucid Motors are additionally coming to grips with as they, too, attempt to increase extra capital.
Lordstown stated it’s going to finish the quarter and the yr with about $195 million and $110 million in money and money equivalents, respectively. However that’s possible not sufficient to scale manufacturing. To make it previous 50 pickups, the corporate is seeking to its outdated pal Foxconn, in addition to different strategic companions, to get the money it must maintain this enterprise going. As a part of Foxconn’s buy of the Ohio manufacturing unit, the 2 firms entered right into a joint venture to co-develop EV programs, and it’s this spring that Lordstown will try to faucet. Foxconn, which owns 55% of the JV, already loaned Lordstown $45 million to assist the EV-maker’s personal capital dedication to the JV.
It’s price noting that Foxconn’s popularity for delivering isn’t precisely pristine, both. The corporate has struggled to get a deliberate $10 billion LCD manufacturing unit in Wisconsin off the bottom — a mission that former U.S. President Donald Trump as soon as referred to as “the eighth marvel of the world.” Earlier this month, Foxconn reduced its planned investment within the manufacturing unit to a measly $672 million and lower the variety of new jobs to 1,454 from 13,000.
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