Nikola Corporation Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2023 Results

“Today we’re sharing what we’ve accomplished and how we are providing fully integrated zero-emissions mobility solutions to fleets right now,” said Nikola President and CEO Steve Girsky. “We began delivering production hydrogen fuel cell electric trucks in Q4, fleets are fueling daily at our modular refueling station in Ontario, California, we continue to rack up HVIP vouchers, and we are on track to start getting our battery-electric trucks back to end users by the end of the first quarter.”

“In California, we have 99% of all the hydrogen fuel cell electric tractor HVIP vouchers requested in 2023 through January 2024,” Girsky continued. “There are more requests for our fuel cell truck alone than all other truck OEMs combined on both battery and hydrogen fuel cell electric trucks in the same period. It’s a testament to our market leading position, quality of our products, and the high level of Nikola fleet success. We are making the most of our head start and capitalizing on our first-mover advantage.”

Launch of the Hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric Truck and Hydrogen Refueling Ecosystem

In Q4 2023, we demonstrated our ability to produce, manufacture, and deliver the hydrogen fuel cell electric truck. We believe we have delivered the first production Class 8 hydrogen fuel cell truck available in North America. Fleets are operating the trucks daily, fueling at our first modular refueling site in Ontario, Calif. and our partner FirstElement Fuel’s station in Oakland, Calif.

Looking forward to 2024, we are focused on optimizing revenue and costs in our business, as we seek to scale hydrogen fuel cell electric truck production, secure additional modular refueling sites and deploy modular fuelers to support fleets and bring the battery-electric product back to the marketplace.

Hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric Truck

In Q4 2023, we delivered what we believe is the first production hydrogen fuel cell electric truck available in North America. We produced 42, delivering 35 of those to dealers and reserved seven for continued testing and fleet demos. Every truck delivered to dealers is spoken for by an end user, some of which are already utilizing the trucks in operations daily. End users include:

In Calif. 99% (355 of 360) of the hydrogen fuel cell electric HVIP vouchers requested in 2023 through January 2024 are for our hydrogen fuel cell electric truck. We continue to build a strong sales funnel as our sales team works in conjunction with dealers. Initial fleet feedback on truck performance has been positive. Coyote Container completed an 866-mile round trip haul between The Port of Oakland, Port of Long Beach, HYLA Ontario refueling station, and returned to Oakland, stopping for only one refuel.

Battery-Electric Truck

We remain on track to deliver the first re-worked battery-electric trucks with new battery packs back to end users by the end of Q1 and believe all trucks will be returned to end user fleets by the end of Q2 or early Q3. Once end user trucks have been returned, we plan to begin retrofitting the remaining battery-electric trucks in Nikola inventory and selling them for revenue in late Q3 or early Q4.

Since October 2023, there have been 33 additional HVIP voucher requests for the battery-electric truck in Calif. In addition to new battery packs from an alternative supplier, what we call the BEV “2.0” is expected to have a number of additional enhancements, some available upon release and some to be implemented over time, which further improve the trucks capabilities. Some of the improvements include an updated instrument display, a more user-friendly mobile app, and scheduled departure charging to ensure maximum state of charge when a driver begins their route. In addition to the new packs and features, we also expect the trucks will be lighter, improving payload capacity.

Energy

We recently announced the opening of our first HYLA modular refueling station in Ontario, Calif., as well as our collaboration with FirstElement Fuel for fleets to use their refueling station in Oakland, Calif. Fleets are utilizing both fueling locations and hauling freight between Southern and Northern Calif.

Our HYLA team is working to secure additional fueling sites throughout Calif., and believes we have line of sight to secure an additional six in Southern Calif. and three in Northern Calif. in 2024. The HYLA station development strategy is to deploy modular fueling assets as truck network density is amassed in the region. Once truck density is amassed, fixed stations can be constructed and placed into service. Upon the completion of fixed station infrastructure, modular fuelers can be redeployed to a new geography and the cycle can be replicated. We believe the modular refueling strategy allows us to be nimble and rapidly enter new markets, while remaining capital efficient.

Webcast and Conference Call Information

Nikola will host a webcast to discuss its fourth quarter and full year 2023 results and business progress at 7:30 a.m. Pacific Time (10:30 a.m. Eastern Time) on February 22, 2024. To access the webcast, parties in the United States should follow this link: https://www.webcast-eqs.com/nikola20240222/en.

The live audio webcast, along with supplemental information, will be accessible on the Company’s Investor Relations website at https://nikolamotor.com/investors/news?active=events. A recording of the webcast will also be available following the earnings call.