LORDSTOWN, Ohio — Lordstown Motors was supposed to be the company that saved a region devastated by the closure of a General Motors assembly plant, but new numbers show concern that they might not make it through the end of 2021. 

What You Need To Know

  • Filings show financial hardships for Lordstown Motors

  • They are taking action to get more funding

  • In 2019, Lordstown Motors took over the assembly plant that was previously owned by General Motors

“We don’t know all the facts, so we’re waiting to get more facts,” said Lordstown Mayor Arno Hill. 

Their flagship vehicle is the 2021 Endurance, an all-electric pick-up truck. Lordstown Motors set out to create what it called, “the world's first all-electric in-wheel drive system built for work.”

In March 2021, the first two beta models rolled off the assembly line, with the hopes of 57 more to be built for testing and review. 

The Lordstown facility is made up of four made buildings for production: general assembly, body shop, stamping and a paint shop. Two other buildings are in the works across the country, a research and development center in Farmington Hills, Michigan, and its first sales and service center in Irvine, California. 

According to the company’s filings, it’s chosen California as their first market, "due to the favorable regulatory backdrop in the state, which is aggressively promoting more widespread adoption of electric vehicles."

Now, in a 110-page financial filing the company said:

“We believe that our current level of cash and cash equivalents are not sufficient to fund commercial scale production and the launch of sale of such vehicles. These conditions raise substantial doubt regarding our ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least one year from the date of issuance of the consolidated financial statements included in this report.”

Hill said the local community is holding out to see what the future brings.

“They’ve had a rough couple months here,” Hill said. “And right now the village [of Lordstown] is kind of in the 'wait-and-see' mode."

Lordstown Motors said the company is taking action to get more funding, like accepting an invitation from the U.S. Department of Energy to file for an ATVM loan and pursing tax credits and grants. 

The company also has an upcoming “Lordstown Week,” which is geared toward investors and future customers to check out the facility and the electric vehicle.