The American carmaker General Motors (GM) has agreed on a strategic partnership with the manufacturer of electric trucks Nikola. As part of the partnership, it will receive an 11 percent stake in it worth two billion dollars (almost 45 billion CZK).
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The companies stated in a joint announcement that by the end of 2022, they will start producing pick-ups with electric and hydrogen propulsion. The car was named Badger.
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GM will acquire a stake in exchange for in-kind services and access to parts and components. It will also become the exclusive supplier of fuel cells for Nikola’s Class 7/8 truck worldwide, excluding Europe.
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“Nikola is one of the most innovative companies in the world. General Motors is one of the best engineering and manufacturing companies in the world. A better partnership than this is unimaginable, “said Nikola Trevor Milton, the company’s founder.
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Shares of Nikola added more than 30 percent in response to the news before the official start of trading on the Nasdaq market in the United States. GM shares then had a good over six percent on the New York Stock Exchange.
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So far, the Badger car is only on paper. However, the company started accepting pre-orders for him at the end of June. The car should have 906 horsepower and a range of 600 miles (965.6 km) using both batteries and hydrogen fuel cells.
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Price is expected to start at $ 60,000 ($ 1.3 million) for the electric version and $ 90,000 ($ 2 million) for the version, which will include hydrogen cells. The badger is expected to be introduced in early December and production is scheduled to begin in 2022, Yahoo Finance said.
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Nikola was founded five years ago. Since its inception until the end of last year, it has reported a total loss of $ 188.5 million. The company’s shares began trading on the stock exchange in June this year, thanks to a so-called reverse merger with VectoIQ Acquisition. Like the Tesla electric car manufacturer, the Nikola company is named after the Serbian-American inventor Nikola Tesla.
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