The designer of electric and hydrogen trucks Nikola, in the grip of a series of setbacks, on Tuesday halved the number of vehicles he plans to deliver by the end of the year and drastically lowered his forecast for figures. 'business.
Read also: The founder of Nikola indicted for lying to investors
The American group, which has not yet started producing on a commercial scale, now plans to deliver 25 to 50 electric TRE trucks by the end of the year, detail its quarterly results documents. Its turnover, initially expected between 15 and 30 million dollars, should at best reach 7.5 million.
Group boss Mark Russell explained on a conference call that Nikola, like the rest of the auto industry, suffers from shortages of certain parts and materials, especially semiconductors.
Despite everything, he plans to build trucks without certain parts, eventually deliver them to certain customers
“even if they are technically not salable”
, and then install the missing parts.
The group's action fell 5.4% at mid-session on the New York Stock Exchange.
Nikola's founder indicted
These new forecasts come a few days after the indictment by the American justice of the founder and ex-boss of Nikola, accused of having lied to investors. The authorities accuse Trevor Milton, who resigned from the company in September 2020, of having "brazenly" embellished the activity of the start-up during multiple public interventions in order to raise the action. He pleaded not guilty.
Mark Russell pointed out on Tuesday that the indictment was against Trevor Milton personally. It only mentions statements from the former boss,
"nothing that does not come from the company or someone else in the company,"
he said. But the case
"is a potential distraction,"
admitted Mark Russell.
The group ended the second quarter with $ 633 million in cash, compared to $ 764 million at the end of March and $ 841 million at the end of December.
"With a possible tightening of liquidity and a possible collective name complaint related to apparently fraudulent statements by founder Trevor Milton, we remain skeptical of the story"
of Nikola, commented Tuesday Garrett Nelson, automotive specialist for the firm CFRA .