What happened
Shares of Nikola (NKLA +0.00%) jumped as much as 20% early Friday, then settled to trade up around 3% as of 3:10 p.m. ET after the electric vehicle company announced an expansion of its dealer network into Canada.
OTC: NKLA
Key Data Points
So what
For perspective, Nikola roared as much as 37% higher yesterday after CEO Steve Girsky provided an encouraging update regarding final testing, commencement of serial production, and the impending start of customer deliveries for its Class 8 hydrogen fuel cell semitrucks. The news effectively calmed the nerves of skiddish investors who had endured a nearly 56% decline in September, driven by a combination of executive turnover, a new capital raise, and a recent recall for the battery-electric version of the trucks.
Yesterday's momentum was further fueled, however, by a follow-on announcement from Nikola this morning that it will expand its dealer network into Canada through a new partnership with Toronto-based commercial trailer manufacturer ITD Industries.
"Bringing ITD on board as our first Canadian dealer is an exciting move for Nikola," stated Girsky. "Canada's zero-emission vehicle friendly environment for Class 8 trucks, fueled by attractive incentives and its ambitious carbon reduction goals, makes it a strategic market for the future of transportation."
Now what
ITD will promote Nikola's trucks across its national sales channels and is a qualified dealer under the Canadian government's iMHZEV (Incentives for Medium- and Heavy-Duty Zero-Emission Vehicles) program. The program offers Canadian organizations up to 200,000 Canadian dollars in incentives toward the purchase or lease of Nikola's hydrogen fuel cell electric truck, and up to CA$150,000 toward its battery-electric truck.
ITD CEO Benny Di Franco added that Nikola's technology nicely complements his company's investments in electric trailer technology, calling it a "natural next step in our company's ambition to bring promising clean transportation solutions to the Canadian marketplace."
In the end, Nikola still has plenty of work to do as it drives its business toward sustained top-line growth and profitability. But these are all steps in the right direction, and it's no surprise to see the leading electric vehicle stock continuing to rebound this week in response.
