Lordstown’s EV pickup has a worryingly short 174 miles of EPA range

Lordstown Motors’ problems now include the performance of its first EV. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has rated the Endurance pickup’s range at just 174 miles. For context, the all-wheel drive Ford F-150 Lightning manages 240 miles with a smaller battery, and the Rivian R1T manages 289 miles. This is also well short of Lordstown’s original claim that the truck would manage an EPA-rated 250 miles of driving.

We’ve asked Lordstown for comment. Autoblog notes EPA figures are sometimes too conservative. The Porsche Taycan, for instance, regularly exceeds its government-rated range in real-world driving. The Endurance also tows more than the F-150, although it has less than half the payload capacity. The Ford is also priced $399 lower.

If the rating holds up, it largely limits the appeal of the Endurance to customers who only need short-distance hauls, such as contractors who make infrequent stops in a single city. It could be problematic for workers who make many stops, not to mention anyone who has to travel between cities.

Accurate or not, the EPA rating compounds Lordstown’s troubles. The Ohio brand is still grappling with production issues that have hindered its output. GM sold its stake in the company last year, and manufacturing partner Foxconn is threatening to pull out over an alleged stock-related breach of contract. Now, it’s not clear that the Endurance will be competitive even if Lordstown can solve its other dilemmas.