1 of 2 | Highlighted on the South Lawn of the White House during the Trump administration, the maker of the Endurance line of EV trucks, Lordstown Motors, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, pointing its finger at is financial backers. File photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI |
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June 27 (UPI) -- Struggling electric vehicle maker Lordstown Motors on Tuesday said it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and announced it sued its backers from Taiwan.
"We remain confident that an orderly, expedited sale process will maximize value for our stakeholders and enable the talent and technology behind the Endurance to find new and supportive ownership," President and CEO Edward Hightower said in a statement. "While in Chapter 11, Lordstown will continue to support our customers."
Lordstown in November was on track to deliver the first of its Endurance light-duty trucks with support from a fresh infusion of $170 million in cash from its Taiwanese business partner Foxconn.
The rollout was by then in financial trouble despite the fanfare that emerged after the vehicle's prototype was shown to then-President Donald Trump on the South Lawn of the White House in September 2020.
Elsewhere, vehicle production at the fledgling plant in Lordstown, Ohio, had been hindered by an unfinished assembly line and the lack of regulatory approval to sell its Endurance line of trucks.
Hightower suggested that much of the company's woes were a result of a lack of commitment from Foxconn. The motor company, while filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, simultaneously sued Foxconn and its affiliates for allegedly shirking on its commercial and financial commitments.
"Despite our best efforts and earnest commitment to the partnership, Foxconn willfully and repeatedly failed to execute on the agreed-upon strategy, leaving us with Chapter 11 as the only viable option to maximize the value of Lordstown's assets for the benefit of our stakeholders," he said. "We will vigorously pursue our litigation claims against Foxconn accordingly."
Launched in 2019 using equipment from General Motors, Lordstown was touted by the Trump administration and supported in part by $230 million from Foxconn for a factory in Ohio. Foxconn later acquired a near-20% in Lordstown.
