Lordstown Motors moves forward with motor production line amid COVID-19 outbreak

The electric-vehicle startup that acquired General Motors Company's idled Lordstown Assembly plant in northeast Ohio is moving forward with a motor production line that could be in operation within six months, despite challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic.

Lordstown Motors Corp. on Tuesday said it made an exclusive licensing agreement with Slovenia-based Elaphe Propulsion Technologies Ltd. Elaphe will develop the electric motor for Lordstown's first primarily commercial vehicle, the $52,500 Endurance pickup. The motorwill be made by the automaker's own employees from the Mahoning Valley community that Lordstown hopes to help revitalize.