Foxconn to Build EVs for Lordstown Motors & Fisker in Ohio

Foxconn to Manufacture EVs for Lordstown Motors and Fisker at Ohio Facility

An agreement announced Thursday details that Foxconn will undertake the production of electric vehicles for both Lordstown Motors and its partner, Fisker Inc., at a repurposed General Motors plant situated in Ohio.

Lordstown Motors Factory Sale

Lordstown Motors, the electric vehicle manufacturer that entered the public market through a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) merger, revealed on Thursday a preliminary, nonbinding agreement with Foxconn for the sale of its expansive 6.2-million-square-foot manufacturing facility.

The facility was initially acquired by Lordstown Motors from General Motors in 2019.

Financial Details of the Agreement

Foxconn is set to remit $230 million for the facility, contingent upon the agreement’s finalization. Certain assets, including Lordstown’s hub motor assembly line, battery module and packing line assets, and specific intellectual property rights, are excluded from the sale.

Furthermore, Foxconn will acquire $50 million worth of Lordstown common stock.

Contract Manufacturing for Endurance Pickup

The companies intend to negotiate a contract manufacturing agreement whereby Foxconn will assemble Lordstown’s Endurance full-size pickup truck at the Ohio plant. Completion of this manufacturing agreement is a prerequisite for finalizing the facility purchase.

Exploration of licensing arrangements for additional pickup truck programs is also planned.

Critical Moment for Lordstown Motors

This deal arrives at a pivotal time for Lordstown Motors, a startup reliant on SPAC funding that encountered several setbacks earlier in the year.

In August, Daniel A. Ninivaggi, an experienced automotive executive and former leader of Carl C. Icahn’s holding company, was appointed as CEO and a board member.

This appointment followed a period of instability within the company, including the resignation of founder and CEO Steve Burns, and the departure of CFO Julio Rodriguez after a first-quarter earnings report indicated higher-than-anticipated capital consumption and failure to meet projected Endurance production targets.

Partnership Goals

The stated objective of this collaboration is to provide both Lordstown Motors and Foxconn with expanded market opportunities in the scalable production of electric vehicles within North America.

This encompasses Foxconn’s pre-existing partnership with EV company Fisker Inc. (It is important to note that Lordstown and Fisker are distinct entities with no operational connection).

Project PEAR with Fisker

In May, Fisker established an agreement with Foxconn to jointly develop and manufacture a new electric vehicle under the “Project PEAR” initiative.

The vehicle resulting from Project PEAR – which stands for Personal Electric Automotive Revolution – will be marketed under the Fisker brand across North America, Europe, China, and India.

Pre-production is anticipated to commence in the U.S. by the close of 2023, with a subsequent ramp-up in production during the following year, as reported by Fisker to TechCrunch in August.

Manufacturing Location Decision

While Fisker did not initially disclose the U.S. manufacturing location, the final determination was to be made by Foxconn.

Fisker released a statement on Thursday expressing approval of the news regarding Foxconn.

“Achieving key program objectives such as time to market, access to a well-developed supplier ecosystem and overall cost targets were all important factors in the decision to locate manufacturing in Ohio,” stated Henrik Fisker in an emailed communication.

“Since signing the agreement with Foxconn earlier this year, we have been working together intensively on all aspects of Project PEAR including design, engineering, supply chain and manufacturing. Fisker’s commitment to volume manufacturing in the United States takes another important step forward today with the signing of this agreement.”

Fisker Ocean Production

Fisker also has a separate vehicle program underway with a different contract manufacturer.

The Fisker Ocean SUV will be assembled by Magna Steyr in Europe.

Production is still scheduled to begin in November 2022, as confirmed during the company’s second-quarter earnings call.

Deliveries are expected to start in Europe and the United States in late 2022, with a target production capacity exceeding 5,000 vehicles per month by 2023.

Deliveries to customers in China are also planned for 2023.