Lordstown Motors, Camping World CEO to Make Announcement
LORDSTOWN, Ohio – Lordstown Motors Corp. CEO Steve Burns will be joined by CNBC television personality and Camping World Inc. chairman and CEO Marcus Lemonis at a joint press conference Tuesday for a “special announcement,” the startup automaker announced late Monday
Lemonis is host of a CNBC reality show, “The Profit,” which features Lemonis searching out small businesses that have great promise, but need help. The show often has Lemonis investing his own money in order to make the venture profitable.
A press conference is scheduled for 4 p.m. at the plant here.
Lordstown Motors was established last year and is in the process of developing its first vehicle, the all-electric Endurance pickup.
Last month, Lemonis visited the Mahoning Valley, where he received his first glimpse of the Endurance and took a drive with Burns.
In a seven-minute video posted on his Facebook page dated Nov. 12, Lemonis praised the performance of the Endurance prototype, and took the vehicle on a short test drive around a local airport.
“I’m trying to understand where the auto market is going and how this whole process is going to work,” Lemonis said in the video as he prepares to start the Endurance.
He called Lordstown Motors the “quiet giant” of the industry. “Not a lot of splash, not a lot of noise, they’re down to work. What I love more than anything else is that they’re doing it right here in Ohio.”
After his short ride with Burns, Lemonis added, “I don’t know about you, but I’m intrigued to learn more.”
In recent days, Lemonis also has posted short videos on his Twitter feed.
Lordstown Motors purchased the former General Motors Lordstown plant in November 2019. In August merged with a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, DiamondPeak Holdings Corp.
The company is in the process of launching its beta testing in January and is scheduled to begin manufacturing pre-production models in the spring. Lordstown Motors is expected to begin full production of the Endurance in September.
Lordstown Motors started to trade publicly on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol RIDE in late October. Since then, share prices have hit a peak of $28.60. On Monday, the share price closed at $19.00.
Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
