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On Monday, electric carmaker Lordstown Motors Corp (RIDE) said that the startup expects to sell its first 500 Endurance pickup trucks in 2022 even as expenses related to the launch surged in the fourth quarter.
The worse-than-expected announcement sent the shares of the company over 28% in New York.
Goldman Sachs analyst Mark Delaney said the target of 500 cars is “well below” Wall Street’s overall estimates.
The Ohio-based EV startup had already delayed the launch of its Endurance pickup truck by three months due to supply-chain issues and has never sold a vehicle yet.
The company has not recorded any revenue in the fourth quarter.
Way behind in competition
When it went public in October 2020, Lordstown had forecasted to sell around 32,000 EVs in the first full year of production.
Delaney said the company’s revenue estimate is based on 2,250 deliveries in 2022 and 10,000 units in 2023.
In the fourth-quarter earnings report, the company said it expects 2500 deliveries in the next year.
Legacy car manufacturers are shifting their focus towards electric automobiles as demand increases, while EV startups are gearing for new launches in 2022, toughening the competition as they try to take on industry leader Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA).
Last week, Nikola Corp (NASDAQ: NKLA) said it expects to deliver 300 to 500 Tre electric trucks in 2022.
High selling price
Lordstown is spending heavily to launch its first electric pickup truck that will rival Ford Motor Co (NYSE: F) and General Motor Co (NYSE: GM) in the segment.
Dan Ninivaggi--Lordstown's CEO--said the cost of materials and components at launch will be significantly higher than the vehicle’s anticipated selling price but would improve over time.
For the fourth quarter, Lordstown’s net loss widened to $81.2 million as it incurred a total of $115 million in expenses, some related to the commercial launch of Endurance.
Lordstown is also in discussions with Taiwanese tech company Foxconn to develop vehicles and has considered alternatives to raise capital for the partnership.
Picture Credit: The Verge