Foxconn could have built or bought a plant anywhere, he said. But the region’s supply base and its workforce made it the right location.
“The talent to launch good production facilities in a complex industry like automotive with new EV platforms, that talent doesn’t exist in most parts of the country or the world,” Ninivaggi said.
But the agreement with Foxconn is far from a solution, Ninivaggi noted; it just provides the first few steps on the company’s path forward, and there’s still plenty of work to be done.
In November, Lordstown Motors released its third-quarter results for the year, noting that commercial production would be delayed and that expectations are for it to begin in the third quarter of 2022. In a news release, Ninivaggi said that production of the pre-production vehicles for validation activities began in the fourth quarter of 2021, calling it a “modest delay from earlier expectations as component and material shortages, along with other supply chain challenges, remain an issue for Lordstown Motors just as they are for the industry at large.”
In a call with Crain’s, Ninivaggi declined to update the company’s third-quarter production outlook.
Generally, though, he spoke to the “challenging” nature of launching new vehicles, particularly for startups. A big reason is the industry’s high standards for safety, and he said he’s not willing to cut corners. He wants to make sure Lordstown Motors puts out a vehicle the company can stand behind.
“Virtually every EV manufacturer, from Tesla through Rivian, has delayed production targets,” he said.
Lordstown Motors has been on something of a “roller coaster,” but Rick Stockburger, president and CEO of BRITE Energy Innovators, an energy technology incubator in Warren, said he still has a lot of hope around the company’s future. The leadership changes and the announcement of the Foxconn partnership only strengthened his confidence.
The company’s founder and former CEO, Steve Burns, was “very much a dreamer,” Stockburger said.
“And he set really, really high expectations, and he set really, really lofty goals,” he said.
Stockburger doesn’t think that was all bad. The excitement helped the community embrace the idea of electric vehicles, which he said are still “a bit of an unknown” to the typical consumer. But when companies miss their goals, it can shake the public’s faith. Making the leadership changes helped reset the community’s expectations, he said. And the partnership with Foxconn brings some established processes and some long-standing expertise to the startup.
Guy Coviello, president and CEO of the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber, said the partnership with Foxconn seems like a “perfect fit,” bringing that experience to Lordstown Motors, while also providing the company with needed capital and taking the responsibility of the large plant off its plate.
Coviello said the region is always talking about diversifying its economy; bringing Foxconn to the Lordstown plant offers the chance to diversify that factory on a more micro level, making multiple products under one roof. That could make the facility more “viable,” he said, and offer more stability to the jobs provided within.