Share prices of American electric vehicle startup Lordstown Motors jumped by as much as 27% Monday after it announced the opening of preorders for its all-electric Endurance pickup.
Investors were encouraged by news of strong early reservation numbers for the company's pickup and its plans to double its hiring before the end of the year.
Lordstown Motors said it had received around 50,000 reservations for its new electric pickup, most of which will be for commercial use. The average order size of the commercial reservations was for approximately 500 vehicles.
"We continue to make significant progress across all fronts, and we are excited to reveal these developments with the investment community and future customers," Lordstown's chief executive officer Steve Burns said in a statement.
The company's stock, which was made public through a special purpose acquisition company, increased from an opening of $18.85 per share to a close of $22.55 per share Monday. Lordstown's stock price has been volatile since it went public in October.
The company said that it expects to begin delivery of its Endurance electric pickups to customers in September next year. The first will be for those that have pre-ordered. The company plans to go into full production of the particular mode throughout 2022.
Apart from the initial reservations made by commercial fleet operators, Lordstown said that it has received interest in its product from several government agencies. Unfortunately, government agencies are not able to place reservations as purchases would need to go through proper channels first before budgets are approved.
The Lordstown Endurance is the company's first production electric vehicle. The four-wheel-drive vehicle has 602 horsepower with a range of 402 kilometers on a single charge.
Lordstown said it will increase its workforce to accelerate its growth. The company has around 250 employees and about 150 contractors. Lordstown plans to double its workforce by the end of the year and reach around 1,500 employees by the end of 2021.
