After purchasing an Ohio factory from General Motors (GM), Lordstown Motors saw its two top executives leave earlier this summer, with new plans unveiled to sell the factory entirely – but not without forging a partnership first.
Lordstown Motors has agreed to a $280 million USD partnership deal that has the company selling its Ohio factory to Foxconn, also offering the Taiwanese-based company a $50 million USD equity stake in Lordstown, according to Bloomberg.
Foxconn is known for mass-producing electronics for Apple such as the latter’s iPhone.
The news comes just months after Foxconn aired plans to build an electric vehicle (EV) factory in the U.S., as well as another in Thailand.
Apple Supplier Foxconn Plans Joint Electric Vehicle Venture https://t.co/ceqykrqbdv
— TeslaNorth.com (@RealTeslaNorth) January 14, 2021
In an interview, Lordstown Motors Chief Executive Officer Dan Ninivaggi said, “It’s less about a facility sale than a strategic partnership.” Ninivaggi continued, “You have to find a way to get scale in the auto industry. Foxconn has a vision. They’ve got enormous capabilities in manufacturing and they will be able to fill that plant faster than we could.”
The transaction will oversee Lordstown Motors selling the factory to Foxconn for roughly $230 million USD, after the company purchased the location from GM for $20 million USD in 2019.
In addition, Foxconn will purchase a $50 million USD chunk of general stock in Lordstown, after the two companies agree on manufacturing the Lordstown Endurance electric pickup – set to begin mass production in April, according to a source with knowledge of the subject.
