Lordstown Motors Seeks To Make Direct Sales In Ohio

Lordstown Motors Corp RIDE is looking to sell its trucks directly to customers in Ohio, the Associated Press reported Wednesday. 

What Happened: The state’s lawmakers are due to introduce legislation that would allow Lordstown Motors to forego selling its vehicles through auto dealerships, which is a requirement under the current rules, according to AP.

Ohio officials and Lordstown Motors representatives held discussions on direct sales, local Ohio media reported.

The automaker’s representatives said they have already received 100,000 preorders, according to Cleveland19 News.

Why It Matters: Full production of the company’s Endurance pickups is slated to commence in September at a plant previously owned by General Motors Company GM, noted AP.

Production work has commenced at the plant, as per local media. 

Ohio allowed Tesla Inc TSLA to make direct sales to its customers in 2014. At the time, the Ohio dealer’s association had tried to block the Elon Musk-led company from selling directly. Tesla has a similar arrangement in Michigan as well. 

U.S. automakers such as Lordstown Motors, Tesla, and Amazon.com, Inc AMZN-backed Rivian stand to benefit from the Biden administration’s push to replace the entire federal fleet with EVs. 

Fellow Ohio-company Workhorse Group Inc WKHS could also benefit as the U.S. Post Office replaces its vehicles with electric ones. 

Price Action: Lordstown Motors shares closed nearly 1.5% lower at $24.74 on Wednesday and gained 1.46% in the after-hours session. 

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