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LORDSTOWN -- The auto startup rehabbing the former General Motors assembly plant to mass produce electric pickup trucks made big news in 2020.
As Lordstown Motors Corp. barrels toward the 2021 production launch of its Endurance, it made tremendous strides last year toward that end, perhaps most notably, the public reveal of the truck in June at its Lordstown facility.
The company has pushed through struggles with the viral pandemic, which ultimately caused a production delay, but the pandemic didn't seem to impact its merger in October with New York-based DiamondPeak Holdings Corp. that turned the private company public.
The deal was expected to inject $675 million into Lordstown Motors, which now trades on the Nasdaq exchange under the RIDE ticker.
Under the agreement, Lordstown Motors became a wholly-owned subsidiary of DiamondPeak, a special purpose acquisition company, or "blank check" company, but kept the Lordstown Motors Corp. name.
The deal includes a $500 million fully committed PIPE -- private investment in public equity that is a mechanism that allows institutional investors to invest in private companies -- that includes a $75 million investment from GM, which sold Lordstown Motors the sprawling 6.2 million-square-foot plant and all of the robots and equipment for a mere $20 million.
Also in October, the company named its first brand spokesman -- Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow.
In early December, the company was awarded a 1.63 percent, 15-year state tax credit that will save it an estimated $20 million in payroll taxes in exchange for the pledge to create 1,570 full-time jobs, a promise the company said it plans fulfill by the end of Dec. 2025.
Also earlier this month, Lordstown Motors CEO Steve Burns and Camping World CEO Marcus Lemonis jointly announced a partnership for the recreational retailer to provide a nationwide service network for the Endurance.
"Lordstown's partnership with Camping World will help us help ensure that our fleet customers have the highest possible up-time of their vehicles," Burns said.
The company announced in November it had about 50,000 non-binding reservations for the truck, which has a sticker price of $52,800 before tax incentives.
It continues to prove out its technology with Alpha 2 prototypes. Production on 40 to 50 Beta series prototypes is set for next year. Those vehicles will be used for crash, engineering and validation testing.
"The Endurance was constructed from the ground up with simplicity in mind," Burns said. "Equipped with hub motors in each wheel and seamlessly integrated with our software system, we are effectively able to deliver a motor and mind in each wheel. Further, this design means that the Endurance has just four moving parts in the drivetrain, as compared to more than 2,000 in vehicles utilizing a traditional internal combustion engine."
The company, however, found itself fending off lawsuits.
Ann Arbor, Mich.-based DTE Lordstown claims it is owed more than $2.5 million in unpaid bills for utility-related work at the plant. Karma Automotive LLC in Southern California, meanwhile, claims Lordstown Motors stole trade secrets about Karma's infotainment system and plundered a specialized team of Karma employees who were designing it.
Lordstown Motors in court papers called Karma's claims a "fictional tale" and "fantasy." Lordstown Motors has said it paid DTE Lordstown "in full for all of the operational costs due through the date DTE terminated the agreement."
rselak@tribtoday.com