LORDSTOWN, Ohio — Lordstown Motors (LMC) has announced that it is suspending production and delivery of its Endurance electric trucks due to "performance and quality issues" with certain components.
In addition, the company has filed paperwork with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to voluntarily recall the Endurance "to address a specific electrical connection issue that could result in a loss of propulsion while driving."
The recall involves 19 Endurance trucks that are either in the hands of customers or being used internally by the company.
In a release issued on Thursday, Lordstown Motors says its team is "diligently working with suppliers on the root cause analysis of each issue and potential solutions, which in some cases may include part design modifications, retrofits, and software updates."
LMC says it is working with its supplier network to implement a corrective action that it believes will address the issue.
“While our experienced team has made significant progress in addressing the underlying component and vehicle sub-system issues affecting the Endurance build schedule, we remain committed to doing the right thing by our customers and to resolve potential issues before resuming production and customer shipments,” said Edward Hightower, Lordstown Motors CEO & President.
LMC is expected to provide a more detailed update on the status of these issues on its upcoming earnings call on March 6.
According to CNBC, as of Jan 3., the company had produced 31 vehicles for sale and delivered six of those to customers.
The trucks are being built at the former General Motors small-car assembly plant in Lordstown that was purchased by Taiwan’s Foxconn Technology Group, the world’s largest electronics maker. The deal became official in May, with Foxconn immediately assuming manufacturing operations at the Lordstown plant and taking over the employment of approximately 400 LMC workers.
The company has struggled to raise money and get trucks out the factory door to customers. In a previous quarterly filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, its auditors raised doubts that the automaker would be in business this year.
Editor's Note: The Associated Press contributed to this report