LORDSTOWN, Ohio — Vice President Mike Pence has plans to visit Northeast Ohio this week.
Pence is slated to attend the unveiling of Lordstown Motors' Endurance all -eclectic pickup truck Thursday, June 25.
According to officials, the 2020 Endurance will cost less in the long run than Ford's popular F-150.
"This is for commercial users; they demand a very tough, robust vehicle," said founder and CEO Steve Burns. "With a strong motor and computer basically watching each wheel every millisecond, you're going to get better traction out of this setup than any conventional vehicle could ever offer," explains Burns.
The Vice President will deliver a speech following the reveal and will later attend an event with law enforcement and community leaders before heading back to Washington, D.C.
Lordstown Motors bought out General Motors in late 2019. The startup company is hoping to bring automobile manufacturing back to Lordstown.
GM once employed more than 4,000 people at the 6.2 million-square-foot plant, which churned out over 16 million vehicles (mostly Chevrolets). However, citing a changing consumer climate, the company closed the plant down in March of last year, devastating the remaining 1,000-plus workers and igniting a firestorm from politicians across the aisle, including President Donald Trump.
While the progress of Lordstown Motors is welcome news, it's still currently a far cry from the village's GM peak, as only about 400 people are currently employed at the outset. Separately, though, GM plans to partner with LG Chem for a local electric vehicle battery plant, and corporate leaders say that will bring more than 1,000 more jobs to the region.
