Foxconn to buy Lordstown Motors’ plant, may help build Endurance pickup

It’s official: Electric truck startup Lordstown Motors will sell its manufacturing plant, a former General Motors facility, to Taiwan’s Foxconn. The two companies announced the framework of a strategic partnership on Wednesday and the deal to sell the plant should close by April 30, 2022.

As Lordstown Motors hands over the keys to its massive facility, it will also grow closer to Foxconn as the two pursue a new joint-venture company. If it comes to life, Lordstown wants Foxconn to help it finally bring the Endurance electric pickup truck to production. The company promised to start production this past September, but hasn’t made a peep since. The firms have until April 30 of next year, when the deal for the plant purchase is expected to close, to reach a final deal on production help. 

The joint venture could lead to co-development and co-design for future electric vehicles using Foxconn’s open-source MIH EV platform. With that, Lordstown and Foxconn would be able to bring these new cars to market individually or together in North America and around the world.

Foxconn hopes it will be its big break into the EV sector in the US. The company’s chairman, Young Liu, said as much in a statement. “This partnership marks the commencement of integrating our resources with Lordstown Motors to develop Ohio into [parent company] Hon Hai’s most important electric vehicle manufacturing and R&D hub in North America.”

As for the financial aspects of the deal, Foxconn will pay $230 million for the entire facility. That does not include Lordstown Motors’ hub motor assembly, nor its battery module and pack assembly portions of the plant. The startup will receive a $100 million downpayment on the purchase from Foxconn on Nov. 18 before the Taiwanese company pays the balance no later than April 15.