LORDSTOWN, Ohio (AP) — An upstart electric vehicle maker said Monday that it now has more than 100,000 orders for its new pickup truck.
Lordstown Motors Corp plans to begin production of the Endurance All-Electric Pickup Truck in September at a former General Motors assembly plant near Youngstown. The company took over the plant after GM in 2019 ended its more than 50 years of car manufacturing at the plant. The automaker employed 4,500 workers there just a few years ago.
Lordstown Motors acquired the plant with the help of a $40 million loan from GM. The startup said it will hire hundreds of people to build to the first line of Endurance trucks, but its long-term plan is to add thousands of jobs.
The factory's fate came into the political spotlight after President Donald Trump criticized GM's decision to shut it down and threatened to cut off all federal subsidies to GM. Vice President Mike Pence visited the factory in June for the unveiling of the new truck and the company's leaders showed off the vehicle at the White House in September.
The light duty truck has a range of about 250 miles and is mainly being marketed to commercial customers such as utility companies and municipal governments.
