After disclosing in a filing that it needs additional funding to be able to produce vehicles in 2022, electric-truck maker Lordstown Motors Corp. said on Wednesday it “has multiple viable avenues to raise capital including asset-backed financing, equity, equity-related or debt financing, loans (including our in-process application for an ATVM loan)” and is “already in active conversations with multiple parties to do so.
The Tuesday disclosure of additional funding needs was part of an amended 10-K filing to its annual report, casting doubt on Lordstown’s ability meet production targets and timelines for its Endurance all-electric pickup truck. The company is looking to start production in September and build 2,200 Endurances by year’s end.
In the 10-K filing: “Our current budget only provides for limited commencement of production in 2021. Additional funding is needed for production in 2022 and beyond and to continue our ramp up to full commercial production. The amounts required may be significant. … The Company believes that our current level of cash and cash equivalents are not sufficient to fund commercial scale production and the launch of sale of such vehicles.”
The ATVM loan, given by the U.S. Department of Energy, supports the development of fuel-efficient, advanced technology vehicles in the U.S.
Lordstown’s Wednesday press statement shed light on its need for the capital raise:
“While we have adequate capital to continue operations, meet supplier obligations, and begin limited production, we previously indicated that we may need to raise additional capital to support our ongoing production plan. The update we provided on our most recent earnings call — and in yesterday’s updated SEC filing — indicated that increased R&D spending due to COVID-related supply chain issues and the strategic decision to in-source production of certain parts simply means we now have confirmed that we will need that additional funding in the near term to ramp to commercial production levels.”
Lordstown said in the filing it had $259.7 million in cash on hand as of March 31. Lordstown posted a net loss of $125.2 million in the first quarter.
RBC Capital Markets initiated coverage of Lordstown on Tuesday. According to a Reuters report, RBC analyst Joseph Spak believes Lordstown will need an additional $2.25 billion in capital through 2025 to remain solvent. Spak maintains the company will not break even until 2025, three years after company projections.
In the filing, Lordstown also summarized the advantages it perceives it has over its competitors due to a pure focus on sales to the fleet market:
Although competition within the broader electric vehicle and pickup market is intense, we believe that our focus on fleet customers will limit direct competition, at least initially. While established OEMs and new entrants to the industry have announced plans to develop electric pickup trucks, most of these potential competitors are expected to focus on the consumer market as their point of entry into the market. In such cases, the vehicles produced may focus more on attributes that provide for mass consumer appeal, which can be either costly or limit the functionality required by the fleet market. By comparison, we are focusing on the specific needs of commercial fleets with the development and production of the Endurance and expect to have significantly less direct competition in this market at the outset.
Lordstown plans to sell the Endurance for about $52,500 before government rebates. Last month, Ford announced a base price of about $40,000 for its all-electric F-150 Lightning.
