Hydrogen early adopter faces big problems amid Nikola challenges
Nikola stock sinks to a 52-week low, a NHTSA complaint claiming the fuel cell shuts down unpredictably, and one of hydrogen’s early adopters remains unconvinced. Is it time for Nikola to throw in the towel on hydrogen?
William Hall’s Coyote Container company made headlines earlier this year, when it became the first company to successfully complete a 400-mile delivery in a Nikola Tre semi truck powered by a hydrogen fuel cell.
Hall, Managing Member and Founder of Coyote Container, drove the hydrogen Nikola over the hilly, 400-mile route that took the truck and its 17.7 ton trailer through California’s Altamont Pass and Grapevine Canyon on the I-5 interstate between the Port of Oakland and the Port of Los Angeles in Long Beach. The trip seemed like a ringing endorsement for the hydrogen-powered trucks. Nearly a year later, though, William seems to have soured on the early adopter experience, specifically citing higher-than-anticipated operating costs, fuel costs, weight limitations, and warranty concerns.
Coyote Container’s Nikola
“The truck costs five to ten times that of a standard Class 8 drayage [truck],” Hall told Clean Trucking. “On top of that, you pay five to ten times the Federal Excise Tax (FET) and local sales tax, [which comes to] roughly 22%. If you add the 10% reserve not covered by any voucher program, you are at 32%. Thirty-two percent of $500,000 is $160,000 for the trucker to somehow pay [out of pocket].”
Coyote Container isn’t alone in expressing concerns about the practicality of hydrogen trucks in general, but there are concerns about Nikola’s hydrogen semi truck, in particular.
In an official NHTSA complaint made against one Nikola HFCEV, the truck experienced five roadside propulsion outages resulting in three towings and two instances where the truck had to limp home on battery power. The failure was unpredictable, cutting off power while the vehicle showed between 20 and 140 miles left of FC range.
The first such incident happened with about 900 miles on the truck’s odometer, while the most recent occurred at 28,340 miles. You can read more about the Nikola NHTSA complaint, below – or just read Hall’s summary of the situation, in his own words: I have dealt with more tow trucks in the last 10 months than in my entire 62 years on this Earth.
NHTSA ID Nu. 11621826
While no recall has been issued for the above issue yet, the company has been no stranger to recalls in the past, and may be sensitive about issuing another one as its stock reaches a new 52-week low (more on that in a minute).
Regardless, the company issued a technical service bulletin (TSB) on October 29th, just 13 days after the official NHTSA complaint was filed.
The TSB itself mentions that, “a coolant fitting may come loose due to excess tension on a coolant line. Extension of the hose returns the tension to an appropriate level,” but while it’s unclear whether or not the TSB is intended to address the propulsion system, what is clear is that the TSB impacts VINs 001-266 – effectively all of the Nikola hydrogen semis currently on the road (as of September 30, Nikola reported selling 235 hydrogen semis).
And as for what it costs to fill up one of those 266 hydrogen semis? Hall says it’s impossible to tell. “No one will tell you what the H2 fuel costs,” he said. “This is because it’s being subsidized by the truck manufacturers by artificially raising truck pricing. This is a severe market distortion.”
Hall also said the added weight of the truck’s hydrogen system, compared to a conventional semi, was also hurting his ability to operate the trucks. “A Nikola Tre FCEV weighs 27,000 pounds versus my heaviest [diesel] sleeper weighing 19,400 pounds,” he told Clean Trucking, in that same interview. “Most drayage trucks weigh between 16,000 to 18,000 pounds. Shippers max out cargo whenever they can, so I have to constantly switch to a diesel in order to be road legal.”
A higher GVWR rating for ZEV trucks, especially on drayage facilities and on off-highway routes with lower relative speeds, could help mitigate that issue without adding excessive risk at highway speeds.
That won’t happen overnight, however, and Hall is losing patience.
The Coyote Container founder took to LinkedIn to vent. There, he shared some thoughts on a Seeking Alpha article calling Nikola a, “strong sell.” Hall wrote, “I have experienced an amazing amount of warranty repair down time in the last 14 weeks only making five of my weekly trips from Oakland to Long Beach. Dealing with battery failures and fuel cell shutdowns.”
Dave Baiocchi, General Manager of ETHERO Truck + Energy (the selling dealer), chose to respond to Hall publicly, writing in defense of Nikola, “I think it’s fair to say that as an extremely early adopter of this technology, and with one of the first units off the assembly line this truck has served you well.”
Nikola recently celebrated the production of its 300th hydrogen semi truck at the company’s Coolidge, Arizona facility. Nikola’s third-quarter net revenue reached $25.2 million, falling short of Wall Street estimates of $37.2 million. The miss was blamed on the unexpected costs associated with the repurchasing of 20 battery-electric Nikola Tre trucks in October.
Electrek’s Take
Despite what might be perceived as the negative tone of this article, I want Nikola to succeed. I want to see a new American truck company figure out a way to succeed, and a way to continue to grow. That said, having proxy arguments with your customers about very real, very concerning issues on social media – and through your dealers – isn’t the way to do that.
We (I) reached out to Nikola staff through both email and LinkedIn on Tuesday regarding these facts and other (as yet) unsubstantiated rumors about its 2025 FCHEV production plans, but received no response as of EOD, Friday, when this story went live.
SOURCES | IMAGES: Fuel Cell Works, NHTSA, Clean Trucking, Investing, Electric-Vehicles.com, Seeking Alpha, and Coyote Container, via William Hall (links throughout the article).
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Environment
Podcast: China reaches EV tipping point, Tesla retreats, some slack with tax credit, and more
In the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we discuss China reaching the EV tipping point, Tesla’s retreat in Europe, EV buyers receiving some tax credit relief, and more.
The show is live every Friday at 4 p.m. ET on Electrek’s YouTube channel.
As a reminder, we’ll have an accompanying post, like this one, on the site with an embedded link to the live stream. Head to the YouTube channel to get your questions and comments in.
After the show ends at around 5 p.m. ET, the video will be archived on YouTube and the audio on all your favorite podcast apps:
We now have a Patreon if you want to help us avoid more ads and invest more in our content. We have some awesome gifts for our Patreons and more coming.
Here are a few of the articles that we will discuss during the podcast:
Here’s the live stream for today’s episode starting at 4:00 p.m. ET (or the video after 5 p.m. ET:
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Cadillac is back and selling a surprising number of electric vehicles in the US. With a full lineup of electric SUVs, Cadillac now claims to be the leading luxury EV brand in the US. Can it keep it up even after the $7,500 federal tax credit expires?
After launching seven new electric vehicles this year, GM claimed that Cadillac became the leading luxury EV brand by market share. However, that doesn’t include Tesla due to its “pricing structure.”
Cadillac is coming off its best first-half sales since 2008, selling more vehicles across all 50 states. Nearly one in four Cadillacs sold in the US this year were EVs.
GM’s luxury brand is now selling more electric vehicles than some of its biggest rivals, including Porsche, Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Rivian, and Volvo.
According to the latest data from Cox Automotive, Cadillac sold over 11,700 EVs in Q2, up 62% compared to last year. Through the first six months of the year, it has sold nearly 20,000 electric vehicles. In comparison, Porsche has sold almost 7,200 EVs in the US, Mercedes sold about 8,000, and Audi has sold just over 11,500.
With an electric SUV in nearly every segment, including the entry-level Optiq, a midsize Lyriq, a three-row Vistiq, and the even larger Escalade IQ and IQL models, Cadillac is seeing an influx of buyers from other brands.
Cadillac prepares for the EV tax credit to expire
Around 70% of Cadillac’s EV buyers are from other brands, according to GM, and about 10% are former Tesla drivers. With big policy changes coming under the Trump administration, Cadillac, like the entire industry, will likely face some hurdles.
The administration already raised tariffs on imported vehicles and other auto parts, and at the end of September, the $7,500 federal EV tax credit is set to expire.
In response to the changes, many automakers are shifting back to hybrid and gas-powered vehicles. Cadillac is no exception.
“They’ll have to have both for a number of years now,” according to Sam Fiorani, the vice president of AutoForecast Solutions. Fiorani explained (via The New York Times) that “The gas-powered vehicles make the money, and the EVs bring them a new market.”
Cadillac was initially expected to have an all-EV lineup by the end of the decade. Thanks to the policy changes, Cadillac could continue offering hybrid and ICE vehicles for several more years.
Fiorani said that although GM planned to retire the gas-powered Escalade, it’s now due for a refresh that will be sold “well into the next decade.”
Earlier this year, Cadillac’s global vice president, John Roth, said during a media briefing that the company was in a better position than most with the policy changes.
All Cadillac vehicles are built in the US, except the Optiq, which is built in Mexico. According to Roth, the policy changes will have “very limited impact, if you will, on the Cadillac brand.” If anything, Roth said, it could be an opportunity for the luxury automaker.
If you’re looking to get ahead of the $7,500 EV tax credit expiration, we can help you get started. Check out our links below to find Cadillac’s electric SUVs in your area.
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Australia Post is advancing its commitment to achieve Net Zero emissions across its operations by 2050 with the introduction of 36 new Mercedes-Benz eVito electric vans, expanding its existing fleet of over 5,000 EVs already in active service.
With an efficient 60 kWh battery and 85 kW (about 115 hp) electric motor, Mercedes’ eVito electric van is ideally suited to the sort of stop-and-go work of a delivery vehicle. What’s more the company’s factory upfit program, Merceds-Benz Vans Courier Solutions, makes it easier than ever for delivery and contractor fleets to spec out their vans exactly the way they need them.
And, even though the eVito’s 60 kWh battery is rated to “just” 261 km (162 miles), the sort of low-speed, high-regen duty cycle Australia Post is going to be putting it through should mean drivers see much better real world range than that — which is precisely the sort of information this 36 van pilot is meant to uncover.
“This is our largest electric van trial to date,” explains Australia Post Chief Sustainability Officer, Richard Pittard. “It’s a meaningful step forward as we continue building a modern, sustainable delivery network that meets the evolving needs of our customers while reducing our environmental impact.”
Australia Post currently operates more than 3,600 three-wheeled electric delivery vehicles (EDVs), 1,500 e-bikes, nearly 200 UBCO DUTY electric motorcycles, and several Mitsubishi eFUSO electric box vans at its larger logistics centers.
The new eVito vans, once deployed at scale, will operate primarily in highly populated metro areas, where their positive impact on local air quality will be felt by the greatest number of people, and their respiratory health, as well.
Electrek’s Take
This kind of deployment should be exciting to EV enthusiasts for a number of tried-and-true reasons, but this one is particularly exciting to Americans because we have an Administration actively pretending that electric postal vehicles aren’t ready for prime time. The success of programs like this one from Australia Post are just more egg in the face of these anti-EV clowns, and few things make me happier.
You can check out the official Mercedes-Benz Vans Australia eVito specs and measurements in the detailed brochure, below, then scroll on down to the comments and let us know what you think of MB’s baby Sprinter.
Mercedes eVito Specs
SOURCE | IMAGES: Australia Post.
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