3 Minutes With: Lordstown Motors, Camping World Partnership
LORDSTOWN, Ohio — Lordstown Motors Corp. is partnering with Camping World to provide nationwide service to the all-electric Endurance pick-up truck.
“They sell and service RVs. They cater to a lot of people that drive pick-up trucks,” said Lordstown Motors CEO Steve Burns. “What we realized is, we’re not just going to have a plain, vanilla 9-5 service center; we’re going to try to have the best service that any EV company’s ever had.”
From there, the two companies look to eventually develop systems to electrify tow-behind travel trailers and motorhomes, and produce the first Class E electrified motorhome and travel trailer in the U.S.
Burns was joined Tuesday by CNBC television personality and Camping World Inc. chairman and CEO Marcus Lemonis at a joint press conference at the automaker’s plant here.
Click HERE to watch the press conference.
Through the partnership, Endurance owners would be able to get their vehicles serviced by Camping World, which has 170 locations, nearly 2,000 service bays, call center, nationwide roadside assistance and four distribution centers that ship parts across the country.
In addition, Camping World and its manufacturing partners will work with Lordstown Motors to bring electrification to travel trailers and motorhomes.
During the conference, Burns and Lemonis said they expect the first electrified tow-behind travel trailers and motorhome to be ready “sometime in 2021” for the 2022 model year.
“If it’s up to me, I’d have it tomorrow,” Lemonis said. “I’d hope that by summer, we’ll see some prototypes.
Lordstown Motors will develop the battery technology and will work with Camping World and other RV manufacturers for tow-behind trailers first, then work up to what Lemonis called the first Class E motorhome in the U.S.
”We’ve been looking at this space and understand our need to be responsible, not only in the environment, but as a leader in the RV industry to where trends are going,” Lemonis said.
The battery pack and motor line for the system will see another 1,500 jobs added to the plant in addition to the Endurance workforce, Burns said.
“The end goal is we’re going to have more people working in here than GM had in its heyday,” Burns said.
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