Photo: Lordstown Motors
Lordstown Motors got the range estimate for its Endurance electric pickup truck from the EPA, and it's a lot lower than expected. The startup botched Endurance's efficiency, which came up short at 48 MPGe. This is just above the GMC Hummer EV, a much larger and heavier pickup.
Lordstown Motors was among the promising startups working on an electric pickup truck in the US. The Lordstown Endurance was unique among its peers because it had four in-wheel hub motors. The development didn't go exactly as planned, and the company had to make difficult compromises to get its truck to market. To avoid bankruptcy, Lordstown Motors sold its factory to Foxconn, and later it needed special assistance from the Taiwanese technology giant to advance the Endurance development and production.
After all these struggles, Lordstown Motors succeeded in getting the Endurance pickup homologated, and the sales got the green light. The drama was far from over, as the startup had to recall 19 vehicles in February due to a risk of propulsion loss while driving. The company later announced that it built about 40 Endurance pickups through February 2023 and sold only six.
We don't know how many pickup trucks have been delivered since then, but those who bought it will be utterly disappointed to learn that it only got a combined 174-mile EPA range rating. Lordstown Motors told autoevolution that it expected a 200-mile EPA rating, which was reasonable considering the 109-kWh battery pack. Still, even the predicted figure is lower than what rivals Ford F-150 Lightning (240 miles/385 km) and Rivian R1T (328 miles/525 km) achieve.
The Endurance's EPA range rating is one of the lowest of any electric vehicle sold on the US market. One of the reasons behind this lackluster performance is the very low efficiency. According to EPA certification, the Lordstown Endurance has a 48 MPGe efficiency, with a whopping 702 Wh/mile (436 Wh/km) consumption. This is the worst result for any electric vehicle selling today, making us believe that something is terribly wrong with Lordstown EV technology.
Considering its unique configuration with in-wheel hub motors, this could be a good place to start when looking for the culprit. Aerodynamics does play a role, but not an important one, considering that energy consumption is not much different in city driving compared to highway driving, at 688 Wh/mi (427 Wh/km) versus 733 Wh/mi (455 Wh/km).
Range and efficiency are not the only Lordstown Endurance characteristics that fall short of expectations. The startup published the electric pickup's final specifications, showing that performance also took a hit. Instead of 590 horsepower, the Endurance's powertrain only develops 440 horsepower, with a peak of 550 horsepower. The top speed has been updated to 118 mph (190 kph), up from 80 mph (130 kph), but the acceleration from zero to 60 mph (97 kph) is now listed at 6.3 seconds instead of 5.5.
After all these struggles, Lordstown Motors succeeded in getting the Endurance pickup homologated, and the sales got the green light. The drama was far from over, as the startup had to recall 19 vehicles in February due to a risk of propulsion loss while driving. The company later announced that it built about 40 Endurance pickups through February 2023 and sold only six.
We don't know how many pickup trucks have been delivered since then, but those who bought it will be utterly disappointed to learn that it only got a combined 174-mile EPA range rating. Lordstown Motors told autoevolution that it expected a 200-mile EPA rating, which was reasonable considering the 109-kWh battery pack. Still, even the predicted figure is lower than what rivals Ford F-150 Lightning (240 miles/385 km) and Rivian R1T (328 miles/525 km) achieve.
The Endurance's EPA range rating is one of the lowest of any electric vehicle sold on the US market. One of the reasons behind this lackluster performance is the very low efficiency. According to EPA certification, the Lordstown Endurance has a 48 MPGe efficiency, with a whopping 702 Wh/mile (436 Wh/km) consumption. This is the worst result for any electric vehicle selling today, making us believe that something is terribly wrong with Lordstown EV technology.
Considering its unique configuration with in-wheel hub motors, this could be a good place to start when looking for the culprit. Aerodynamics does play a role, but not an important one, considering that energy consumption is not much different in city driving compared to highway driving, at 688 Wh/mi (427 Wh/km) versus 733 Wh/mi (455 Wh/km).
Range and efficiency are not the only Lordstown Endurance characteristics that fall short of expectations. The startup published the electric pickup's final specifications, showing that performance also took a hit. Instead of 590 horsepower, the Endurance's powertrain only develops 440 horsepower, with a peak of 550 horsepower. The top speed has been updated to 118 mph (190 kph), up from 80 mph (130 kph), but the acceleration from zero to 60 mph (97 kph) is now listed at 6.3 seconds instead of 5.5.
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