Lordstown Motors Hits Another Setback
When it comes to electric trucks, things have never gone that well for Lordstown Motors. And that is to put things mildly. Now, this EV truck manufacturer has hit yet another setback. It is recalling almost every truck it sold last year. Yes, you read that right, 19 Lordstown Endurance trucks are facing a recall.
What is going on with Lordstown Motors?
If you’ve been paying attention to Lordstown Motors news, there’s a lot going on. And unfortunately, most of it is not good. Starting a car company is no easy task, and starting an electric truck company is probably even harder. It seems like at every turn, Lordstown has hit some kind of roadblock.
The latest news is that Lordstown has halted production of the Endurance truck. Due to issues with this all-electric pickup, there are some major concerns. In fact, Lordstown Motors delivered 31 EV Endurance trucks in 2022, and now 19 have them have been recalled. That’s not exactly the best track record in the automotive industry.
The Lordstown Endurance keeps facing problems
When Lordstown first announced the all-electric Endurance truck, it was met with some skepticism. According to The Drive, the company did take over GM’s Lordstown factory back in 2019, but things did not really improve after that.
Along with the recall of most of its trucks, the company has now announced that it will be stopping production of the Endurance. And that likely comes as a disappointment for folks who have put a reservation in.
In today’s world, it seems like recalls are becoming the norm. That’s not totally a bad thing, as it means issues are being caught and addressed. But when you only deliver 30ish trucks and have to recall 19 of them, that does not bode well.
Are electric trucks good?
For a while there, EV trucks seemed like a bit of a novelty. But now, brand like Ford, Ram, and Chevy have plans to or already are producing electric trucks. In fact, the Ram 1500 REV is so popular that Ram was forced to close reservations after just five days of them being open. Clearly, there are folks out there who are interested in a pickup with an electric powertrain.
Even newcomers to the industry like Rivian are seeing success with EV pickup trucks. Depending on where you’re at, you have likely seen an R1T on a road near year. For Lordstown Motors, that has not been the case. And it’s not clear if the Endurance will ever hit the mainstream consumer.
I understand that electric trucks are not for everyone. If you live in a cold climate or actually tow with your vehicle, gas or diesel might be the way to go. But as we see models like the F-150 get electrified, auto manufacturers are heavily invested in this technology.
At the same time, Lordstown is not the only company struggling with EVs. Recently, Ford announced the F-150 Lightning is experiencing problems related to its batteries. If a behemoth like the Blue Oval is facing production problems, it’s not surprising that Lordstown Motors is feeling the same.
