Electric vehicle makers have sprouted up across Orange County the past several years, but Lordstown Motors Corp.’s recently filed request for bankruptcy protection is a reminder the road to success isn’t easy.
The electric pickup truck maker (Nasdaq: RIDE) counts its Irvine center as one of the company’s three main locations, alongside its Ohio headquarters and Farmington Hills, Mich.
The local operation’s future may have been thrown into doubt when the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on June 27.
Lordstown’s approximately 27 employees in Irvine develop advanced electronic hardware and software for “infotainment” systems as well as vehicle cybersecurity, connected vehicle and fleet services systems, according to the Chapter 11 filing in bankruptcy court in Delaware.
The company said it “will continue to employ its reduced workforce” to market and sell company assets including its Endurance all electric pickup truck, its first vehicle.
The company’s website says the Irvine site is an “engineering, research and development” facility.
243 Workers Companywide
A Lordstown spokesperson declined to say what would happen to the company’s Irvine Spectrum office, which is located at 9451 Toledo Way, when contacted by the Business Journal.
“Lordstown’s troubles underscore the difficulty of scaling up a new auto company amid fierce competition in the electric-vehicle market,” the Washington Post said.
The EV maker counted 243 employees companywide at the end of last month.
Its story was tightly woven into U.S. politics after then-President Donald Trump hailed the company has a boon for Ohio in 2019.
Lordstown reportedly managed to produce only 65 of its Endurance pickups since the company’s 2018 founding.
“The ugly truth in the electric vehicle industry right now is that many investors are skittish,” investor website The Motley Fool commented the day before the Lordstown bankruptcy.
The company, which went public in 2020, counted a valuation around $40 million as of last week.
Local Look
Here is a look at some of the other EV makers in Orange County:
– Irvine-based luxury EV maker Karma Automotive has counted a modest amount of success on the sales front over its history, with an estimated approximately 400 U.S. vehicle sales in the year ended June 2022, according to the Business Journal’s latest Automakers list.
In 2020, Karma sued Lordstown, alleging misappropriation of trade secrets, conspiracy and breach of a non-disclosure agreement. A trial is set for September.
– Irvine-based Rivian Automotive Inc. (Nasdaq: RIVN) is the best known of OC’s electric vehicle makers. In March, Rivian detailed cuts of 3% to its roughly 14,000 personnel, including 239 positions eliminated across multiple locations in Orange County. The company has struggled to meet its sales goals.
– Anaheim-based electric vehicle maker Phoenix Motor Inc. (Nasdaq: PEV) debuted at $7.50 per share in June 2022 in its IPO on Wall Street. Shares in the maker of electric-powered school buses, trucks, and other commercial vehicles were down to 70 cents apiece late last month (see story, page 3).
– Electric vehicle maker Mullen Automotive Inc. (Nasdaq: MULN) in Brea said it has received a $15.8 million order for trucks from MGT Lease Co. The purchase agreement is for 250 Class 3 cab chassis EV trucks. Delivery is scheduled to start in August.
- Anaheim-based Waev makes three different brands of light utility electric vehicles, including the Taylor-Dunn brand, whose heritage stretches back more than 70 years. Waev says it’s “growing and profitable.”
– Startup Harbinger Motors last year announced plans to electrify medium-duty trucks. The company is based in Gardena, though brokerage data indicates the company is planning to put a large part of its operations in a 115,000-square-foot building in Garden Grove.
