Lordstown Motors comes out of bankruptcy with a new name to fight Foxconn

The reorganised Lordstown Motors, now called Nu Ride Inc., would also look at "potential business combinations," though it did not specify what kind of mergers it was looking for. There is hardly much left for the corporation to name. It sold Foxconn the former General Motors plant it owned; creator of Lordstown Steve Burns purchased the company's electric pickup vehicle assets.

When Foxconn filed for bankruptcy protection in June 2023, Lordstown Motors filed a lawsuit against the company. The startup was allegedly misled by the Taiwanese conglomerate about their intentions to work together on an electric vehicle lineup. The Lordstown case was essentially put on hold while the Chapter 11 processes were taking place.

The company declared late on Thursday in a regulatory filing that it had implemented a Chapter 11 restructuring plan that the Delaware bankruptcy court had recently approved. That places it among the first electric vehicle firms to at least partially survive the bankruptcy process. While IndiEV is still involved in a Chapter 11 action in California, Electric Last Mile Solutions was liquidated in a Chapter 7 proceeding in 2022. In their Chapter 11 restructurings a decade ago, Fisker Automotive and Coda both sold themselves to different bidders. 

Having rebranded itself and narrowed its focus to pursue legal action against Foxconn, the manufacturer of the iPhone, for allegedly “destroying the business of an American startup,” Lordstown Motors has emerged from bankruptcy. Now that the restructuring plan has taken effect, Nu Ride is run by a whole new group of executives and directors. It will now trade under the symbol "NRDE" on the over-the-counter markets.

 

Beyond its conflict with Foxconn, the recently renamed corporation needs to settle two federal probes and other litigation. Recently, the Securities and Exchange Commission accused Lordstown of deceiving investors about the viability of its now-defunct electric pickup vehicle. As a result, Lordstown was forced to set aside Rs. 2,114 crore to assist in resolving some of the current shareholder cases. According to the agency, both that inquiry and one from the Southern District of New York U.S. Attorney's Office are still ongoing.

Lordstown's plant is currently owned by Foxconn, which also constructed a few dozen of the startup's electric pickup vehicles prior to their recall. Until far, Foxconn's attempt to become a contract manufacturer of American electric vehicles has largely failed. Lordstown and IndiEV, two of the company's four potential clients, have declared bankruptcy, and Fisker, which is allegedly considering filing for bankruptcy of its own, has recently distanced itself from the conglomerate, stating that it would prefer to work with a recognised automaker. Foxconn's Ohio facility has only been producing tractors for Monarch, a company based in California.