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Lordstown Motors is one of the new breed of electric truck manufacturers. It’s Endurance truck is a full-size pickup truck that is intended to be build in Lordstown, Ohio, at a former General Motors Plant. But, wow, is there a lot to the unfolding story of the Endurance, and now it looks like the same company that builds iPhones will be in charge of production.

The Lordstown back story

The Lordstown Motors factory where GM once operated is being acquired by Foxconn
The Lordstown Motors factory where GM once operated is being acquired by Foxconn | Megan Jelinger/AFP via Getty Images

The company took over a former General Motors plant in Youngstown, Ohio, and promised to hire thousands of new workers. Then, it announced in late 2021 that it would selling a significant amount of its interest of its plant to Foxconn Technology Group. Foxconn is the Taiwanese company best known for making iPhones. But Foxconn is the company that probably made your iPad, maybe your computer monitor or TV, gaming system, or maybe washing machine, depending on the plant. The plant was first built to sell a revived version of the Studebaker Avanti car in the 1980s, and later built the Chevy Cruze.

In late 2021 Lordstown announced a deal to sell its manufacturing plant to Foxconn. The two companies will share technology and build the new Lordstown Endurance electric truck, an SUV, and a bus. While the Endurace was due in 2020, its delivery date has been pushed back several times.

Why does Foxconn want to build trucks in Ohio?

2021 Lordstown Endurance | Lordstown

In February the company announced that it was working toward finalizing a transaction with Foxconn and “seeking an agreement and funding structure to develop new vehicles in collaboration with Foxconn.”

Foxconn makes almost everything that isn’t a car, and it wants to break into the EV space.

Foxconn, however, has a controversial past that has been documented in several news reports. Lordstown, too, has been in the hot seat following several setbacks.

The Endurance an electric truck with a novel 4×4 system

2020 Lordstown Endurance EV pickup truck | Lordstown
2020 Lordstown Endurance EV pickup truck | Lordstown

The Endurance is a full-sized pickup that looks like designers took a bit of all of the American trucks and combined them into one. Take some F-150 (roof line), some GMC Sierra (front end), and Dodge Ram (the bed), and that add some electric styling cues and you get an Endurance.  

One of the things that makes the Endurance special is its four in-wheel hub motors. Other electric vehicles use motors mounted to a frame that turn an axle. Lordstown says its design reduces the number of moving parts and improves vehicle control. The four motors also mean that it’s a different kind of four-wheel drive, where each motor can independently power each wheel.

When Lordstown announced it was going to make its truck, there were not as many competitors as there are now. Since then, Rivian not only announced it was building the R1T EV truck, but it’s started delivering them. Ford, too, with its F-150 Lightning. Ram has announced an EV truck. General Motors is launching an EV Sierra, and is already delivering its GMC Hummer EV.

RELATED: Now We Know Why GM Virtually Gave Away Its Factory To Lordstown Motors

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Writer - Sedans & Coupes

Dan Mayfield

Dan joined MotorBiscuit in 2022 with over 20 years of experience in journalism and a lifelong passion for anything related to the automotive industry. He grew up wrenching a 1949 Ford pickup truck and an MGB with his dad, learning how not to wire a fuel pump (he inadvertently set the MGB on fire).

After earning a bachelor’s degree in photojournalism from the University of New Mexico, Dan has contributed his expertise to a range of local outlets, including the City of Albuquerque, US Eagle, and the Alliance for Local Economic Prosperity.

On weekends, Dan spends Saturdays enjoying “cars and coffee” chats and, on Sundays, he’s watching the Route 66 Cruise roll through town. He also races motorcycles, and it’s not unusual to find him elbows-deep in his latest cafe racer build.

Taking advantage of the local desert terrain, Dan also enjoys exploring and driving off-road in his trusty Ram Rebel pickup truck, which provides personal insights into his contributions to our Trucks, SUVs, & Crossovers coverage. Dan strives to give our readers unique information about the dynamic automotive market, reading anything that has to do with cars, trucks, bikes, 4X4s, and, in his words, “everything with a motor.”

Dan has earned a number of accolades from the Public Relations Society of America, and is a University of Southern California, Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism Fellow.