LORDSTOWN, Ohio - Lordstown Motors Corporation has announced that it plans to begin building a prototype of its all-electric, commercial-grade pickup truck in March at its manufacturing plant in Lordstown.

The word came Thursday from LMC CEO Steve Burns.

 "We are hard at work in the factory preparing to begin Beta builds in the coming weeks," said Burns. "With this step on the horizon, we remain on track to meet our September start-of-production timeline.”

Burns is also encouraged by what he says are indicators of strong demand for an all-wheel drive, full-size electric pickup truck with 250 miles of range from commercial, government, and military fleets.

According to a statement released by the company, Lordstown Motors is conducting the metal stamping and welding process for the first 57 Beta prototypes of the Endurance and expects to complete the first Beta vehicles on schedule in March.

The Beta series prototypes will be used for crash, engineering, and validation testing. The company also expects some of these vehicles may be sent to some initial customers for their feedback. The truck has already achieved a 5-Star crash test rating via software crash simulation, according to LMC.

Lordstown Motors has added to its long-term battery cell supply,  recently signing a multi-year supplier agreement with LG Energy Solution.

In addition, Lordstown Motors is planning to unveil an Electric Van in June, with production starting in the second half of 2022. Based on the Endurance platform, the van will use hub motors for all-wheel drive and low ground clearance.

Plans are for the van to be the world's first production all-electric RV, manufactured in partnership with Camping World. The van will be priced competitively with comparable internal combustion-based vans, according to LMC.

 Lordstown Motors has been added to the United States General Services Administration listing, which LMC says is the first step towards being able to sell to government fleets.

“With this step complete, the company has started its outreach to state and local government entities, including the U.S. Military,” LMC says in the statement.

 The company currently employs 343 full-time workers, including 171 at their Ohio headquarters, 131 engineers at the satellite research and development center in Farmington Hills, Michigan, 18 remote workers and 23 at the service center in Irvine, California.

LMC expects employment to reach 1,000 by the end of this year.