Lordstown Enters A Growing EV Pickup Market

Back in June, Ohio EV startup Lordstown Motors revealed its first electric pickup truck. Lordstown entered the stock market one month ago through the merger with DiamondPeak Holdings Corporation DPHC but its Endurance model truck is yet to enter a market that is about to get very crowded with electric pickups.

The landscape

EV startup Rivian, backed by Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN and Ford Motor Company F, plans to sell an electric pickup truck and SUV from 2021. The debut of an electric version of General Motors Company GM's Hummer is scheduled for late 2021. Tesla, Inc. TSLA also plans to start building its electric Cybertruck in late 2021.

The Ford F-150, the most popular truck in the US, is getting an electric version in 2022. Not to mention that last week, GM said it is taking a stake in electric vehicle maker Nikola Corporation NKLA in a game-changing deal that will eventually deliver $4 billion in benefits to GM. The 10-year agreement with Nikola will ultimately reduce costs for each company as GM pursues its all-electric vehicle strategy and its sources will empower Nikola's Badger to challenge Tesla.

Meanwhile, all we know about Lordstown's electric pickup truck is that it will be powered by four individual motors on each wheel hub.

What do we know about Endurance?

What we know is that the truck is aimed at the commercial market. Its price will start at around $52,500. It's powered four in-hub electric motors do not only give it an all-wheel drive but also the ability to independently deliver differing amounts of torque to each wheel. This is beyond handy when driving off-the-road and in poor conditions.

Other than that, very little has been revealed about the Endurance. Nothing much was said about the battery pack, range, charging time, or performance during its hour-long presentation. The company announced it plans deliveries to start in early 2021. This is an ambitious timeline for a company that was founded just one year ago but the goal was to deliver the first electric pickup truck on the market.

Lordstown might be new, but it is not starting from scratch

Lordstown Motors isn't exactly starting from scratch as it has a slightly firmer rooting than other electric startups. Steve Burns is the former CEO of Workhorse Group Inc. WKHS, a struggling commercial electric vehicle startup that has been around for a few years. Workhorse owns 10 percent of Lordstown Motors.

Moreover, the Endurance is based on intellectual property that Lordstown Motors is licensing from Workhorse, as it paid $15.8 million for it. Moreover, Workhorse will make 1 percent on every Endurance truck sold for the first 200,000. It is also entitled to 1 percent of any debt or equity financing the new startup raises. Moreover, the company already has an existing plant: the former General Motors plant in Lordstown, Ohio.

GM even loaned Lordstown $40 million to buy its idle plant. Burns told Reuters in January that the start-up was a "few weeks" away from paying that loan back. But when The Verge asked Burns about the loan in March, he only replied that the company is on track when it comes to its financing goals.

Lordstown plans to begin its Endurance electric pickup later this year. It will launch it for sale already next year. The company already claimed $1.4 billion in orders with 27,000 pre-orders. Along with Rivian, Nikola and traditional auto makers, Lordstown is set to face off Tesla.

More companies innovate in the fast developing EV space and a new market seems to open up for startups to grow, this for both the EV manufacturers as for companies providing additional products to the market.

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