Foxconn May Purchase An Old GM Factory From Lordstown Motors

At one time, electric vehicle fans had high hopes for Lordstown Motors. The company promised unique and capable electric vehicles that excited many people, but the company has yet to deliver. Lordstown Motors is struggling to get its EV into production. However, something interesting is now going on with Lordstown Motors and a Taiwanese manufacturing giant called Foxconn. They are reportedly working on a $280 million deal that would see Foxconn purchase a manufacturing facility from Lordstown.The deal would see Lordstown and Foxconn team up with Foxconn acquiring $50 million of equity in Lordstown Motors. The former GM factory would be sold for $230 million, a significant markup from the $20 million that Lordstown paid to acquire the factory from GM two years ago.

Foxconn will spend the other $50 million buying common stock in Lordstown with the promise of helping to assemble the Endurance electric truck. However, sources note that the deal is contingent on both sides agreeing on building the electric vehicle. Foxconn wants to begin mass production in April of next year, according to the report.

Foxconn has been pushing further away from its traditional business of building electronic devices, such as the iPhone for Apple. Foxconn has an open-source electric vehicle platform that it will build for contract partners, including Fisker. Scaling production is critically important in the electric vehicle market as the more units a manufacturer can produce, the cheaper they are to make.

Lordstown Motors CEO Dan Ninivaggi said that Foxconn has a vision and could fill the factory quicker than it could. Also, part of the deal is an agreement that would formalize a cost basis for producing the Endurance pickup. The $50 million investment in purchasing common stock will happen whether or not the two firms can agree on production.