Zero-emissions truck startup Nikola announced it will pause the production of its Tre Class 8 Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) because it has too many vehicles in the inventory and too few orders.
According to Teslarati, Nikola said that it manufactured 63 units of the Tre BEV in the first quarter of this year, with just 31 of them making their way to dealers. Additionally, in the last quarter of 2022, the company said it produced 133 Tre BEV units, out of which 20 were delivered to dealers.
As a result, the inventory has swelled so much that production can be stopped at the company’s facility in Coolidge, Arizona.
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Nikola also makes a hydrogen fuel cell version of the Iveco-based truck, which saw a “significant increase” in sales in Q1 2023, with orders from 12 customers that amount to 140 total units of the FCEV Tre.
“As we have sufficient inventory of the battery electric truck, we will temporarily pause production in Coolidge as we modify the assembly line to accommodate both hydrogen fuel cell and battery electric builds on the same line,” the company said in a statement. “After we resume production in Coolidge, the battery electric Tre will remain in our lineup as a build-to-order product.”
Yesterday, the truck startup announced some modifications to the agreement it has with Iveco. The European truck maker will assume full ownership of the joint venture in Ulm, Germany, while Nikola will be granted the license to use the Iveco S-Way platform in North America and will gain joint ownership of the intellectual property for the first-generation eAxles developed together with Iveco Group’s powertrain brand, FPT Industrial.
Now, Nikola has added that it will focus on the North American market:
“Nikola had a very solid quarter, building sales momentum with Class 8 battery electric truck deliveries to customers, and orders for 140 hydrogen fuel cell trucks from customers,” Nikola CEO Michael Lohscheller said. “We have the right products at the right time, and as we move forward, we will be focusing on the North American market, hydrogen fuel cell trucks, the HYLA hydrogen refueling business, and autonomous technologies.”
With all this being said, the American truck manufacturer had a less-than-ideal financial quarter, with losses increasing from $152.94 million to $169.09 million.
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