COVID-19 delays Lordstown Motors truck launch (Video)

Lordstown, Ohio – Electric pickup startup Lordstown Motors has delayed the 2020 planned launch for its Endurance pickup, saying the COVID-19 pandemic has slowed development efforts at the former General Motors plant in Ohio.

CEO Steve Burns says the delay should be short – launching the Endurance in January 2021 instead of December 2020. The truck’s unveiling will also be delayed. Lordstown had planned to show off the vehicle at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in June, however organizers cancelled that event as the TCF Center has been converted into hospital space.

Detroit is one of the biggest COVID-19 hotspots in the country, forcing the show’s cancellation. Instead, Burns says Lordstown is organizing an event for later this year at its plant and headquarters to show off the vehicle, and he plans to stream the event to media and people following the company’s progress.

Burns said the pandemic has “dramatically strengthened our conviction and enthusiasm to bring the Endurance to market as soon as humanly possible… The air quality satellite images that are showing the results of having less tailpipe emissions are staggering. Anyone that ever doubted that our air quality could be cleaned up dramatically by eliminating tailpipe emissions should now be cheering for the advent of vehicle electrification.”

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Burns has been offering teaser videos, showing off a series of short videos that highlight individual components.

The EV company is targeting commercial fleets with the truck which will use electric motors in each wheel instead of a traditional drivetrain.