Nikola reaches new milestone with its trucks equipped with hydrogen fuel cells
April 11, 2018Automaker set to return $8 billion in preorders from customers
Nikola, a relatively new automaker focused on the development of hydrogen-powered heavy trucks, has reached a significant milestone. The company has been hard at work producing large commercial trucks that are equipped with hydrogen fuel cells. These trucks had received significant attention from commercial drivers and transportation companies, with Nikola receiving more than $8 billion in preorder reservations. Now, the company has announced that all of these reservations will be refunded.
Nikola does not require customer deposits to continue developing its trucks
Typically, such an announcement would be financial trouble for a company. Nikola, however, has said that it no longer requires deposits from potential customers in order to continue developing its trucks. According to Nikola, refunding customer preorders will not affect their place in line and they will receive their trucks when the vehicles are ready. Nikola plans to refund all deposits within a 60-day period.
Hydrogen fuel cells may become a staple in the trucking industry
Nikola is quickly establishing a strong presence in the growing clean transportation space. For years, the commercial transportation sector has lacked access to clean vehicles, a problem that many companies have been pressured to resolve. Nikola uses hydrogen fuel cells to power large commercial trucks that would be ideal for these companies. Because they are powered by hydrogen fuel cells, the trucks produce no harmful emissions and they do not require lengthy charging times associated with battery systems.
More automakers see the promise of hydrogen fuel cells in trucking
Nikola faces growing competition from already well established automakers also interested in developing clean commercial trucks. One of these companies is Tesla, which recently began road testing a battery-powered commercial truck. Several automakers believe that commercial trucks may better served by hydrogen fuel cells rather than batteries. Nikola predicts that hydrogen-powered trucks will come to establish a significant presence in the trucking industry, especially as companies look to become more environmentally friendly without sacrificing the performance of their fleets.