Electric pickup startup Lordstown Motors gets 250-truck order (Video)

Lordstown, Ohio – FirstEnergy, a utility company serving much of Ohio, plans to buy 250 Endurance pickups from Lordstown Motors, a company started last year when it bought General Motors’ (GM’s) former Chevy Cruze plant in Lordstown, Ohio.

The company’s say the letter-of-intent to buy the $50,000 trucks marks two Ohio partners supporting what local officials are calling Voltage Valley. In addition to Lordstown Motors plant in the Mahoning Valley of Ohio, GM and LG Chem are building a $2.3 billion electric vehicle (EV) battery plant nearby.

“Over the past couple of months, we have worked to better understand the needs of local residents and businesses,” said Local Motors CEO Steve Burns. “The ultimate goal is to continue to prioritize relationships, like the one we’ve developed with our partners at FirstEnergy, which drive innovative developments for this community.”

FirstEnergy intends to deploy electric-powered Endurance pickup trucks to complement its existing fleet.

“We remain committed to embracing new ideas and opportunities that better serve our customers and contribute to a sustainable energy future,” said Dennis M. Chack, senior vice president of product development, sales & marketing at FirstEnergy.

The Endurance pickup truck is designed to be the first production vehicle that uses a 4-wheel-drive hub-motor system, a design that reduces the number of moving parts. Fleet managers benefit with less breakdowns, lower maintenance, and less cost.

Company officials promise to show off a drivable prototype of the truck at June’s North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit, Michigan. Production and sales begin late this year for the Endurance.