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Nikola Corp. (NASDAQ: NKLA) will gather electric trucks at a pilot plant at its 1 million square foot production facility in Arizona while the plant structure is running in stages.
“It will be handmade, very, very low volume, very slow,” FreightWaves Mark Duchesne, Nikola’s global production manager, told FreightWaves. “This allows us to enjoy the structure of those trucks. [And that] allows us to deliver trucks to our consumers as temporarily as possible.”
Nikoka marked the starting point for the production of electric trucks with electric batteries and hydrogen fuel cells, a 430-acre site revolution on Thursday. Coolidge, Arizona’s production facilities are located between Phoenix and Tucson. This will create 2,000 new jobs.
The $600 million plant will be built in stages after the pilot installation. The first is due at the end of 2021. Both the battery-powered Tre electric cabin and the two-day Class 8 mobile fuel cabin will be assembled there. The moment takes position 12 to 18 months later. The cabin meeting and a painting workshop would remain in the 3rd if the call was projected to continue.
The facility designed for Industry 4.0 will incorporate the newest technologies for building 24-hour connectivity, construction and the appliance to take full advantage of energy, productivity and overall quality.
“The explanation for why our company exists is to help a sustainable future, so everything we do in our production process and our structure will be done to ensure the smallest environmental footprint imaginable,” Duchesne said.
Nikola begins cabover Tre production for Europe in mid-2021 in a joint manufacturing venture with IVECO at a plant in Ulm, Germany. Snub-nosed cabover design is favored in Europe for its maneuverability, tight turning radius and visibility.
The Tre will be among U.S. heavy trucks, where longer, fuel-efficient aerodynamic hood designs dominate long-distance driving.
“We found that last year, when we brought some of our biggest consumers to North America, they all said they would buy [the Tre] for use in metropolitan spaces as a delivery truck,” Nikola CEO Mark Russell said. “So we’re bringing the cab back to the U.S. market.”
Nikola will finance the structure with approximately $900 million on its balance sheet following its appearance as a public company on June 2. Nikola ended an opposite merger with VectoIQ, a special target acquisition company (SPAC) whose sole objective is to locate a blank transport company to invest in
VectoIQ raised $230 million in its own public supply in 2018. He then raised $525 million through a public public equity investment (PIPE) that allowed the mutual budget and hedges and other investors to acquire shares and warrants with discount from VectoIQ for new shares. All this cash Nikola at the end of the merger.
“At the moment, we have nothing to raise,” chief executive Trevor Milton said. “But it depends on the fate of the market. If the market is very responsive and you like everything we do, there comes a time when financing is higher to attract money. Sometimes the inventory is bigger. [You] depend on where. are with the valuation of their business.”
Governor Doug Ducey’s pro-business attitude helped Arizona win the plant at the expense of South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and the states, Milton said.
Arizona’s sun-friendly weather has helped. Like the state’s proximity to California, it will be Nikola’s market.
“The fact [is] that you can produce 365 days a year without worrying about the massive hailstorms that destroy all your cars or the icy weather that spoils your paint,” Milton recalls, reminding Him. “We don’t deal with any of this.”
Milton has partnered with Ducey, the former CEO of Cold Stone Creamery, as a fellow entrepreneur.
“It’s like, ‘Listen, I don’t like government any more than you do, Trevor. There’s a position for that. And it’s very vital for this company. But my purpose is to make sure I never hurt you.” Milton remembers.
“‘I’ll make sure you get all the permits you need. As long as that’s safe, we’ll speed up. We’ll make sure it’s done with all the right processes, but it may not be the case.”
Ducey also gave Milton his mobile phone number. And he responds when Milton calls.
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Photo credit: Nikola