Assuming the world does not shut down again due to another major crisis, Lordstown Motors is in good shape. They just announced a merger with DiamondPeak Holdings. This merger pretty much ensures that the funding for the Endurance electric pickup will be in place so that the production can begin in 2021. This will make the Lordstown electric pickup the first electric pickup to market.

The Endurance electric pickup debuted in June

Through a digital livestream event on June 25th, Lordstown Motors debuted the Endurance pickup truck. At that time, the company also announced its intention to be the first electric pickup truck to market. This morning, Steve Burns, the CEO of Lordstown, announced a merger with DiamondPeak, a special purpose acquisition company, in a move that will make Lordstown a publicly-traded company. According to the announcement, this merger was the last piece needed in the puzzle to get the truck to market in the Summer of 2021. 

According to the Wall Street Journal, Lordstown Motors is at least the third automaker this year to orchestrate a reverse merger through a special acquisition company, or SPAC, to become a publicly-traded company. It follows Nikola Corporation’s June merger, and Fisker, Inc. merger last week. Nikola is working on an electric pickup truck, called the Badger. Fisker is working on an SUV, called the Ocean. The final approval of the Lordstown DiamondPeack companies is expected during the fourth quarter this year. 

Tesla paved the way

All these reverse mergers and IPO for the New York Stock Exchange follow a consumer shift to hybrid and all-electric vehicles. The greater acceptance of the technology is due in part to the pioneering efforts of Tesla, which has shown that the battery technology in their cars can support the general public’s daily driving routines. Consequently, the increasing acceptance by the public of electric vehicles has brought other manufacturing companies into the electrification pool, such as Lordstown.

Over 20,000 pre-orders already

According to CNBC, Lordstown has received over 20,000 pre-orders of the Endurance, mostly from commercial fleet companies. This means the company will hit the ground running with the electric pickup truck and will have room to scale up as demand increases. The factory space they purchased from GM last year is capable of supporting up to 600,000 vehicles per year. 

Specifications of the Endurance electric pickup

Lordstown intends to sell its own vehicles instead of using the traditional dealership arrangement. Like Tesla Motors, Lordstown is accepting orders on its website for the vehicle. The specifications of the truck are below.

• 600 horsepower
• 7,500 towing capacity
• 4-hub electric motivation (AWD)
• 20-inch wheels
• 3-year bumper to bumper warranty
• 8-year battery warranty
• 10 hour charge time 
• 250-mile range
• $52,500 starting price

The race to electrification heats up

The race to electrify the pickup truck has intensified greatly lately. Bollinger, Fisker, Ford, Hummer, Lordstown, Nikola, Rivian, and Tesla have all announced their intention to be in production within the next couple of years. As the electrification market continues to heat up, look for other manufacturers to introduce their own pickups as well.