In August, Republic Services said it would collaborate with Nikola on developing zero-emissions trucks for waste and recycling services.
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Nikola Corp. NKLA -10.46% said the company and Republic Services Inc. RSG 0.33% have stopped collaborating on the development of zero-emissions garbage trucks, a move that will result in the termination of Republic’s order for potentially several thousand vehicles.
In August, Republic said that it would collaborate with Nikola on developing zero-emissions trucks for waste and recycling services and purchase at least 2,500 or as many as 5,000 of them. Republic also said it expected to begin integrating the trucks, which were meant to have a range of 150 miles, into its fleet beginning in 2023.
The waste-and-recycling company didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
“Both companies determined that the combination of the various new technologies and design concepts would result in longer-than-expected development time and unexpected costs,” Nikola said Wednesday.
Nikola shares fell 9.7% in premarket trading.
Nikola has attracted investor attention with its hopes to transform the trucking industry, but the company has struggled with a range of challenges.
General Motors Co. , for example, has pulled back on its plans to take an equity stake in Nikola and canceled plans to build an electric pickup truck for it.
Nikola also said Wednesday that it has laid out a road map that has deliveries of its Tre semi-truck starting in the U.S. next year. It said it is planning to break ground on its first commercial hydrogen fuel station in 2021.
Write to Micah Maidenberg at [email protected]
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