The American electric truck manufacturer Nikola Motor is threatened with exclusion from the US stock exchange Nasdaq. Because the share price was below one US dollar per share for 30 consecutive days, Nikola no longer complies with Nasdaq regulations.
The company has been granted a grace period until 20 November 2023 to comply with the regulations. Nasdaq has a minimum share price rule that requires the share price to be above $1 for 10 consecutive business days.
At its peak, Nikola’s share price was $65.90 in 2020. Trevor Milton, who was still CEO at the time, was later charged with securities fraud. The share price is currently at $0.62, which marks a drop of 20 per cent.
Nikola is one of a growing number of companies that have gone public via a SPAC merger and whose share price has subsequently gone into freefall. Lordstown Motors also announced this month that it had received an SEC notice of impending delisting. Arrival, Bird and Canoo are also struggling after completing SPAC mergers to enter the stock market.
Nikola posted a net loss of $169.1 million (€154.4 million, up from $152.9 million, the equivalent of €139.6 million, in Q1 2022). In addition, cash burn increased from 200 to 240 million dollars, currently 219 million euros. As for the business, the company wrote in its current quarterly report that production would be temporarily halted at the end of May and is expected to resume in July – but initially only with H2 trucks. For the time being, BEV trucks are to be produced only to order.
Earlier this month, Nikola announced that it will sell its entire share in the European joint venture with Iveco to the Italian truck manufacturer in order to focus on the North American market – which amounts to a withdrawal from Europe. “Manufacturing and energy are capital-intensive businesses, and we must continue to focus on where we have competitive and first-mover advantages,” it said in a statement.
Nikola CEO Michael Lohscheller recently said: “We have the right products at the right time, and as we move forward, we will be focusing on the North American market, hydrogen fuel cell trucks, the HYLA hydrogen refueling business, and autonomous technologies.” He assured, “We are on the right path with our re-energized management and commercial teams, improved sales strategy, new dealers, and energy partners.”
