"Lordstown Motors Corp.’s ability to stay in business for at least another year remains in doubt until it secures more funding and its market value rises, its finance chief [Adam Kroll] said after the electric-truck maker sold its factory to raise cash." - The Wall Street Journal, May 16, 2022.
The gap is about $150 million by the end of this year. It had raised $230 million by selling its production facility to Foxconn. Also, the latter reimbursed it $27 million.
This warning just reinforced an earlier warning about the threat of running out of money.
Another challenge Lordstown Motors faces is that the EV is crowded. Established players such as Ford already have developed EVs which are getting good reviews.
On the bright side, the EV startup plans to go beyond producing its planned EV pickup truck. It will develop other products with Foxconn.
Meanwhile, the economic hopes of Northeast Ohio are directly linked to the success of Lordstown Motors. It had been hit hard when GM ended the production of the compact Chevy Cruze. That became a poor seller in the era of SUVs.
In general, the region never made it back after the collapse of steel. In contrast, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania had diversified its economy to include healthcare, technology, and higher education.
I had lived in Northeast OH for three years. Connect with Editor-in-Chief Jane Genova at janegenova374@gmail.com.
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