LORDSTOWN, Ohio — Electric pickup truck start-up Lordstown Motors is looking for a loan to retool the old GM plant in Lordstown.
The company is pursuing a $200 million loan from the U.S. Department of Energy. The government is not commenting on the request.
Earlier this week, Steve Burns, CEO of Lordstown Motors, met with Rep. Tim Ryan to talk abou the company's application for the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing (ATVM) loan.
“Mr. Burns and I had an incredibly productive meeting yesterday. I’m very happy with the status update provided on Lordstown Motors’ upcoming electric vehicle manufacturing plant. I’m heartened that Lordstown Motors will be providing high wages to Ohio workers, and I will do everything I can to help them secure an ATVM loan and keep moving this project forward,” said Ryan in a statement. “Our community in Northeast Ohio has a long auto-manufacturing history, and I’m pleased that Lordstown Motors understands our community’s expertise and skills in this field and plans to put us back to work doing what we do the best – building award-winning vehicles.”
Ryan led a bipartisan group of 10 Ohio lawmakers in writing a letter to the Department of Energy, urging them to approve the ATVM loan. You can read the letter by clicking here.
Lordstown Motors says it plans to unveil a drivable version of its electric truck at the Detroit Auto Show in June. It hopes to start building it by the end of the year.
The company also plans to hire 400 workers by the end of the year.