Lordstown Motors, Other EV Stocks Continue to Struggle

LORDSTOWN, Ohio – Despite announcing in November initial commercial deliveries of its flagship vehicle, the all-electric Endurance pickup, were underway, Lordstown Motors Corp.’s stock continues to lose traction as the company rolls into the New Year.

Shares of Lordstown Motors, which trades on the NASDAQ under the ticker RIDE, have shed 21.5% of their value over the past month, hovering at $1.03 per unit at midday.

RIDE shares on Tuesday hit its all-time low of $1.01, flirting with penny stock territory.

Lordstown Motors is not alone, as other electric vehicle manufacturers feel the brunt of a sagging market heading into 2023. Over the past month, EV manufacturer Rivian has lost 37% of its stock value, Lucid Automotive is down 35.7%, and Canoo stock has shed 9.3%, trading close to a record low.

Even EV giant Tesla isn’t immune from the downturn, as shares of that company have plunged 40% in a month and are down 72.5% year-to-date.

Lordstown Motors’ stock, which closed at a high of $29 per share in February 2021, has struggled since the release of a short-seller report in March of that year that accused company officials of inflating preorders of the Endurance. A subsequent internal inquiry led to the resignation of then-CEO Steve Burns and other officials.

However, the company has since restructured its management team and this year successfully sold its production plant in Lordstown to Foxconn for $235 million. Under a contract manufacturing agreement between the two companies, Foxconn will build the Endurance at the plant.

Foxconn has also pledged additional equity investment of $170 million into Lordstown Motors to develop future vehicle products.

The Endurance is in limited production, the company has said. Lordstown Motors plans to manufacture a total of 500 units by the end of the first quarter of 2023.

The Endurance is a finalist for the North American Truck of the Year. In October, more than 30 automotive journalists conducted test drives of the new vehicle.

Pictured at top: Lordstown Motors Corp.’s all-electric Endurance pickup.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.