GM Might Sell Its Lordstown, Ohio, Plant to Workhorse, an Electric-Truck Startup

From Car and Driver

• GM says it is discussing a possible sale of its Lordstown, Ohio, plant to a startup automaker called Workhorse that plans to sell plug-in-hybrid pickup trucks in the United States.

• The Lordstown plant previously built the Chevrolet Cruze but was shuttered last year as part of GM's decision to cancel several passenger-car models in its lineup.

• The sale is not final yet, but GM says that once it is, the facility could be overhauled to accommodate new production.

General Motors is in talks to sell its Lordstown, Ohio, factory to a startup automaker called Workhorse. President Donald Trump first tweeted about the possible sale earlier today, prompting GM to issue an official statement confirming the talks. The Lordstown facility previously built the Chevrolet Cruze compact car, but production ended in March as part of GM's recent cuts to its passenger-car lineup.

Workhorse is a startup company based in Cincinnati, Ohio, that first appeared in 2016. The company has claimed it would build a plug-in-hybrid pickup truck, the W-15 (pictured above) with an electric motor and a range-extending gasoline engine. Workhorse was also in the running for the U.S. Postal Service's new vehicle contract with its N-Gen compact delivery van, also powered by a range-extended electric powertrain.

The W-15 truck semes like the most likely candidate for being built in Lordstown if the sale goes through. The company claimed to have presold $300 million worth of the truck to commercial fleets; that adds up to roughly 5700 units given the truck's promised $52,500 starting price. The company originally promised to begin producing trucks in 2018.

In a statement, GM said that "the move has the potential to bring significant production and electric vehicle assembly jobs to the plant." The company also says that its ongoing discussions with the UAW "regarding the impact of changing market conditions on the Lordstown facility" are a factor in the sale. If the final agreement goes through, it will also include "an affiliated, newly formed entity," with Workforce as a minority interest, that would acquire the facility.

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