Taiwanese contract manufacturer Foxconn late on Thursday announced a non-binding agreement to purchase the sprawling vehicle plant located in Lordstown, Ohio, from cash-strapped electric vehicle startup Lordstown Motors.
Under the deal, Foxconn will purchase the plant for $230 million together with $50 million worth of common stock in Lordstown.
Lordstown purchased the plant from General Motors in 2019, with the aim of building its first product, the Endurance electric pickup truck, at the site.
Following the closing of the deal, Lordstown plans to negotiate another deal that will see Foxconn manufacture the Endurance under contract. The two companies have also agreed to explore the potential for additional vehicle programs.
Lordstown Motors factory - 2020
Lordstown also plans to establish a long-term lease for a portion of the plant. The plant purchase by Foxconn doesn't include Lordstown's production lines for electric motors and batteries, so Lordstown may still manufacture components for its own vehicles at the site, and potentially for other companies wanting to use the components.
One such company could be Fisker. Foxconn in May announced that it is working with rival EV startup Fisker to start production of an affordable EV in the U.S. by late 2023.
Foxconn has also unveiled its own modular EV platform and is also working on contract manufacturing of vehicles in China with Geely.
The agreement between Foxconn and Lordstown comes just a month after Lordstown announced the hiring of new CEO Daniel Ninivaggi to replace former CEO and company founder Steve Burns who stepped down abruptly in June along with former CFO Julio Rodriguez. They left after an internal investigation found “issues regarding the accuracy of certain statements regarding” pre-orders for the Endurance—a matter the Justice Department is also looking into.
