What happened
Shares of electric truck start-up Lordstown Motors (RIDE -2.70%) were sharply higher on Monday afternoon, after the company said it now has more than 100,000 reservations for its Endurance electric pickup truck.
As of 1:15 p.m. EST, Lordstown's shares were up about 20.4% from Friday's closing price.
So what
In a Monday morning statement, the Ohio-based company said it now has more than 100,000 non-binding reservations for the Endurance, an electric pickup truck designed around the needs of fleet operators. CEO Steve Burns said that all of those 100,000 reservations are from operators of commercial fleets, and that the average order size is close to 600 trucks.
Lordstown's Endurance is an all-wheel-drive electric pickup with a towing capacity of up to 7,500 lbs. Lordstown expects to begin production of the truck in its Ohio factory in September. Image source: Lordstown Motors.
Lordstown's reservations, or "pre-orders," aren't binding -- the businesses that place them aren't contractually obligated to follow through with purchases. But they're still a significant indicator of fleet operators' interest in the vehicle, and that's why the stock was way up on Monday.
Now what
Burns said that in addition to its commercial-fleet customers, Lordstown has also seen significant interest in the Endurance from fleet buyers at municipal, state, federal, and military agencies. Those government fleet buyers are generally unable to place "pre-orders" for a vehicle like the Endurance that isn't yet being built, but auto investors should take note: The interest from those entities suggests that Lordstown could have another rush of fleet orders once the Endurance goes into production this fall.
