Foxconn CEO affirms investment in Ohio electric vehicle plant with $26 million
A $26-million investment could be coming for local electric vehicle company Nu Ride Inc., formerly known as Lordstown Motors Corp., according to reports from Taiwan news stations.
Taiwan-Plus News spoke with Foxconn CEO Young Liu who said he plans on expanding the company’s Lordstown-based production plant.
Liu told reporters “the company will not escape the impact of new U.S. tariffs, but its early move to diversify manufacturing across regions will keep the damage relatively small.”
Overview of Lordstown Motors becoming Nu Ride Inc.
Foxconn, also known as Hon Hai Technology Group, is a Taiwanese electronics manufacturing company.
In 2020, Lordstown Motors rolled out the all-electric pickup truck called Endurance, with support from Mike Pence and Ohio leaders.
Around 2021, Lordstown Motors and Foxconn signed a $230-million deal to change ownership of the former General Motors plant to Foxconn.
Foxconn would assemble the company’s electric vehicles.
Customers were excited to drive the Endurance trucks, but by 2021, Lordstown Motors was struggling to finance the mass production and were forced to cut back.
In 2023, Lordstown Motors filed for bankruptcy, the Endurance trucks recalled and were no longer rolling out on the production line.
Lordstown Motors alleged Foxconn “had no intention of living up to its commitments,” according to The Verge .
According to the exit plan approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Foxconn retains an equity stake in the Ohio company, but doesn’t .
After the bankruptcy case, Lordstown Motors took on the new name of Nu Ride Inc.
In February of 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission alleged that Lordstown Motors misled investors and exaggerated the demand for the electric pickup trucks.
“Exaggerations that misrepresent a public company’s competitive advantages distort the capital markets and foil investors’ ability to make informed decisions about where to put their money,” Mark Cave, associate director of the SEC Division of Enforcement said.
According to Reuters, the company’s representatives agreed to a cease-and-desist order with the SEC and settled the case in the same month.
