Lordstown halts Endurance electric truck production amid recall for quality issues

Published

2 years ago

February 23, 2023

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Ohio-based EV manufacturer Lordstown Motors (RIDE) has hit another roadblock in its quest to bring its Endurance electric pickup to market. After several years of waiting, Lordstown says Endurance EV buyers will have to wait a little longer after announcing it will pause production amid a voluntary recall.

The news comes as a significant blow to Lordstown, which seemed to finally be getting on track after working tirelessly to bring its electric truck to market.

After going public on the NASDAQ exchange in 2020, many saw Lordstown as a promising young EV start-up with potential in the electric pickup segment. However, the excitement quickly faded after several costly mishaps, including an early prototype that caught fire in early 2021.

Things worsened after Lordstown’s CEO and CFO abruptly resigned in June 2021, sparking questions about the company’s ability to carry on.

Shortly after and in desperate need of cash, Lordstown announced it was selling its Ohio assembly plant to Taiwanese manufacturing giant Foxconn, hoping it would spark life in the company and finally get the Endurance electric truck moving through production.

Despite the sale, Lordstown claimed it needed another $50 to $75 million to scale production on its second-quarter earnings as Foxconn stepped in again to revamp the program.

With the additional investment, Lordstown was able to begin production with the initial batch of 500 Endurance EV trucks leaving the plant last November. After several months of silence from Lordstown, the company is now issuing a voluntary recall as it pauses Endurance EV production.

Lordstown-Endurance-EV-Recall-1 — Lordstown Endurance electric truck (Source: Lordstown)

Lordstown pauses Endurance EV production amid recall

Lordstown announced through a press release today it has experienced performance and quality issues with specific Endurance components that have led the company to halt production and deliveries.

The company is working with its suppliers to find the cause of the issue and potential solutions, which Lordstown says may include “design modifications, retrofits, and software updates.”

Lordstown has filed paperwork with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to voluntarily recall the Endurance EV truck, citing “a specific electrical connection issue that could result in loss of propulsion while driving.”

The company’s CEO and president, Edward Hightower, commented on the situation, saying:

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.

The recall affects 19 Endurance EVs that are either already delivered or used by Lordstown. Lordstown says it will provide a more detailed update on its upcoming earnings call on March 6, 2023.

Electrek’s Take

A recall at this stage is not a good look for Lordstown after already having its fair share of issues getting the truck to production.

Lordstown’s stock is down over 10% today on the news. The next few months will be crucial for Lordstown as they work to regain investor and consumer confidence in the brand. Whether the company will be able to overcome the challenges and claim its position in the rapidly expanding EV market remains to be seen.

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Beta Technologies founder completes first test flight in its production-intent eCTOL [Video]

Published

4 hours ago

November 14, 2024

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Beta Technologies founder completes first test flight in its production-intent eCTOL [Video]

All-electric aircraft developer BETA Technologies has shared another important milestone in bringing its first two vessels to market. Most recently, BETA’s founder, CEO, and test pilot Kyle Clark took the production version of its ALIA eCTOL up for its first flight, as seen in the video below.

BETA Technologies is a fully integrated electric aircraft and systems developer based in Vermont. Three years ago, it debuted its first electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, the ALIA–250. That BETA vessel has since been renamed the ALIA VTOL and completed a piloted test flight transitioning mid-air this past April.

In addition to the ALIA VTOL, BETA has also been developing an electric conventional takeoff and landing (eCTOL) plane called the ALIA CTOL. To date, it has flown tens of thousands of test miles en route to evaluation flights for FAA certification. That aircraft is targeting full approval for commercial operations by 2025.

As BETA moves closer to bringing the ALIA CTOL to the public, it has completed its first bonafide production build in South Burlington. Following a Special Airworthiness Certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), BETA has successfully taken its production-ready ALIA CTOL up for a test flight, piloted by its founder and CEO.

Watch BETA’s founder complete a CTOL test flight

BETA Technologies shared details of its first successful production CTOL test flight today alongside the images above and the full video below.

Once the production-intent build of the ALIA CTOL was complete, the FAA inspected the aircraft for safety and compliance before granting BETA a Multipurpose Special Airworthiness Certificate for Experimental Research & Development, Market Survey, and Crew Training, signing-off approval for test flights.

On November 13, BETA CEO, founder, and test pilot Kyle Clark conducted the first test flight of the ALIA CTOL aircraft, which lasted nearly an hour. The test included a conventional runway takeoff before the aircraft climbed to 7,000 feet.

While in the air, Clark tested the aircraft’s handling qualities, stability, control test points, and initial airspeed expansion before completing several approaches ahead of a normal landing. Clark spoke following the successful flight:

This start of our production CX300 flight test campaign is a result of years of hard work and focus on studying customer requirements, hard engineering, manufacturing, production, quality and test. It represents a significant milestone for BETA, and is the beginning of an exciting new phase for the business. With this, we’re one step closer to putting this technology into the hands of our customers.

We learned a lot from this first production build. We weren’t just building an aircraft company, we were building and refining a system to build high quality aircraft efficiently. This first build allowed the team to collect data and insight on manufacturing labor, tooling design, processes, yields and sequences, all of which are being used to refine our production systems.

With its production test flight campaign now underway, BETA says it will continue testing the ALIA CTOL aircraft for the standard 50 hours required before qualifying for a Market Survey and Crew Training certificate. That next certificate will enable BETA to fly outside of Burlington and Plattsburgh and continue training additional pilots on the aircraft.

The company shared it will also continue production of additional aircraft, including ALIA CTOL and ALIA VTOL configurations, the latter of which was recently teased in October. You can view footage of BETA’s CTOL flight below.

[embedded content]

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Environment

U.S. crude oil rises, trades around $69 per barrel

Published

4 hours ago

November 14, 2024

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U.S. crude oil rises, trades around per barrel

Crude oil futures rose slightly on Thursday, with the U.S. benchmark trading around $69 per barrel, though the market outlook remains bearish.

Global crude supplies are expected to outstrip demand by more than 1 million barrels per day next year led by robust growth in the U.S., according to the International Energy Agency’s monthly market report.

Here are today’s energy prices by 8:07 a.m. ET:

West Texas Intermediate December contract: $68.92 per barrel, up 49 cents, or 0.7%. Year to date, U.S. crude oil is down more than 3%.
Brent January contract: $72.78 per barrel, up 50 cents, or 0.7%. Year to date, the global benchmark is down more than 5%.
RBOB Gasoline December contract: $1.9711 per gallon, up 0.3%. Year to date, gasoline has fallen nearly 6%.
Natural Gas December contract: $2.966 per thousand cubic feet, down 0.6%. Year to date, gas has gained nearly 18%.

UBS slashed its price forecast for global benchmark Brent to $80 per barrel from $87 previously on weakening demand in China, the world’s largest crude importer.

OPEC on Tuesday cut its demand growth forecast for the fourth month in a row earlier this week.

U.S. crude oil has shed about 4% and Brent is down 3.5% since Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential as the dollar has surged. A stronger U.S. dollar can depress oil demand among buyers that hold other currencies.

Don’t miss these energy insights from CNBC PRO:

Environment

Loren McDonald stops by Quick Charge to discuss EV charging, Paren, and more

Published

15 hours ago

November 14, 2024

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Loren McDonald stops by Quick Charge to discuss EV charging, Paren, and more

Leading electric vehicle analyst, author, and industry thought leaders Loren McDonald and Bill Ferro stop by Quick Charge to discuss EV Adoption’s acquisition by Paren, the “crisis” of EV charging reliability, and the real state of the EV market.

Depending on who you listen, EVs are either driving brands to record growth and are about cross that critical 10% of the overall market nationwide, or the future is bleak, the market is down, and EVs just aren’t selling. What’s really going on? Loren and Bill (probably) have some answers.

Today’s episode is sponsored by BLUETTI, a leading provider of portable power stations, solar generators, and energy storage systems. For a limited time, save up to 52% during BLUETTI’s exclusive Black Friday sale, now through November 28, and be sure to use promo code BLUETTI5OFF for 5% off all power stations site wide. Click here to learn more.

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