The Endurance electric van from Lordstown Motors Corp. sits on stage during a presentation event in Lordstown, Ohio, USA, on Thursday, June 25, 2020.
Matthew Hatcher | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Shares of Lordstown Motors rose Thursday after the new start-up of electric vehicles named Daniel Ninivaggi, a longtime car veteran and former leader of Icahn Enterprises, as the new CEO.
Volatile shares rose to 41.4% in intraday trading before reaching about $ 6.40 per share, up 16.2% on Thursday afternoon. Shares ranged from a low of $ 4.77 per share to a high of $ 31.80 per share over the past 52 weeks.
Ninivaggi downplayed Thursday’s performance of the stock, telling CNBC that it has focused on achieving short-term goals that will consolidate the company in the long run.
“I don’t care about the stock price, day in and day out. But we definitely have to work to trust investors. And we do that by fulfilling our production plan and achieving through all of our tests and certifications, ”he said during a telephone interview Thursday.
Ninivaggi, whose annual base salary will be $ 750,000, said he has no plans to change the company’s previously announced goals or plans at this time.
Ohio-based Lordstown Motors has not yet produced a marketable vehicle. It expects to begin limited production of its first product, an electric van called Endurance, in late September, followed by vehicle validation and regulatory approval in December or January. According to Ninivaggi, then sales and deliveries will be made.
“Now we have to run and get that truck out the door,” he said. “That’s what I focused on. It’s not attractive, but we have to get the truck out the door and offer the performance and market it.
We know we have to vote because we have to get this truck out the door.
The appointment of Ninivaggi, whose experience previously worked for billionaire Carl Icahn, was largely car suppliers, is effective immediately, the company said. According to a Lordstown spokeswoman, he will retain his position as chairman of car supplier Garrett Motion.
Ninivaggi, 57, said he has no plans to address Icahn as the company’s potential investor. In May, Lordstown said there were “substantial doubts” about his ability to continue in the future business due to problems financing his vehicle’s production. He is currently seeking additional funding.
Ninivaggi replaces the company’s founder, Steve Burns, who left the carmaker in June after an internal investigation that found “questions about the accuracy of certain statements about” Lordstown’s pre-ordered orders, specifically the gravity of the orders and who did them.
“The Board is excited about the appointment of Dan as CEO. We are impressed with his extensive career in the automotive industry, his track record, his strategic thinking and his team-oriented leadership talent. commercial, capital allocation and growth phase, “David Hamamoto, chairman of the Lordstown Board CEO’s Search Committee, said in a statement.
Workers install door hinges on the casing of an Endurance electric van prototype on June 21, 2021 at the Lordstown Motors assembly plant in Ohio.
Michael Wayland | CNBC
The internal investigation was boosted after claims by short seller Hindenburg Research that Lordstown deceived investors. The report sparked investigations by the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Lordstown went public through a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, in October. It is a growing group of emerging companies that make public or announce plans to do so with SPAC.
Most SPAC transactions were initially held by investors, sending shares through the roof and making some founders millionaires, if not billionaires, overnight. But the tides have turned against many of the companies following this year’s crackdown by the SEC, including investigations, warnings to investors and possible changes in accounting guidelines.