Nikola’s (NKLA) wholesale deliveries of hydrogen-powered electric trucks rose 22% in the third quarter from the previous three-month period, the company said Wednesday, signaling steady demand for its big platforms.
The EV maker delivered 88 Class 8 hydrogen fuel cell trucks to dealers this quarter, in line with expectations to sell 80 to 100 units. But that fell short of the 80% sequential increase in deliveries reported in the second quarter.
Shares of Nikola rose 9.5% in early trading. The stock is down more than 82% so far this year, since the last close, and has been hurt by weak growth in the EV industry due to weaker consumer demand.
The Phoenix, Arizona-based company also said it has delivered 200 hydrogen fuel cell trucks to dealers so far this year. The company had previously said it was targeting deliveries of 300 to 350 trucks throughout the year.
Nikola has sold a total of 235 units since the truck went on sale in the fourth quarter of 2023.
The company is benefiting from new customers placing orders for its hydrogen trucks, allowing the company to pivot away from its battery-powered vehicles, all of which it recalled in 2023 due to fires caused by a coolant leak.
Nikola had previously said it was on track to complete the rollout of all its updated battery-electric trucks by the end of the year.
The company beat Wall Street estimates for second-quarter revenue in August and posted a narrower-than-expected loss.
(Reporting by Akash Sriram and Deborah Sophia in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva and Shilpi Majumdar)
