GM General Motors Company

By Colin Kellaher

General Motors Co. (GM) on Wednesday confirmed it is in talks to sell its idled Lordstown plant in Ohio to electric-vehicle maker Workhorse Group Inc. (WKHS) and an affiliated, newly formed entity.

Under the plan, the new entity, led by Workhorse founder Steve Burns, would acquire the facility, while Workhorse would hold a minority interest in the new firm, the companies said.

"The first vehicle we would plan to build if we were to purchase the Lordstown Complex would be a commercial electric pickup, blending Workhorse's technology with Lordstown's manufacturing expertise," Mr. Burns said in a statement.

President Trump earlier Wednesday tweeted that GM's chief executive, Mary Barra, had told him that the auto maker would sell the Lordstown plant to Workhorse. GM closed the plant in March as it ended production of the Chevrolet Cruze sedan.

GM said a deal with Workhorse "has the potential to bring significant production and electric vehicle assembly jobs to the plant."

Shares of Workhorse, based in the Cincinnati suburb of Loveland, rose about 51% to $1.27 in early afternoon trading.

Write to Colin Kellaher at colin.kellaher@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 08, 2019 13:12 ET (17:12 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.