Written by Cláudio Afonso | LinkedIn | X
Nikola is currently developing its in-house development of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) for Level 2 and Level 2+ autonomy, according to CEO Steve Girsky in a recent interview with FreightWaves.
These systems, which offer enhanced comfort features such as lane-centering and adaptive cruise control, are pivotal to the company’s current technological strategy.
For more advanced autonomy levels, particularly Level 4, the battery-electric and hydrogen truck manufacturer plans to source technology from third-party providers. “We’re working internally on a Level 2/Level 2+ system,” Girsky said.
“We will be relying on partners for either add-ons to our system or their system. And for Level 4, we’re going to rely on partners.” Girsky cited the substantial investment required to develop higher levels of autonomy as the primary reason for partnering with external firms.
“It’s not something we have the resources to do internally right now so we’ll rely on partners and we are experimenting with a number of players,” the chief executive added.
Earlier this week, the company announced the opening of a new hydrogen refueling station in Los Angeles, the second one in California.
NEVER MISS AN UPDATE ON NIKOLA
DA Davidson analyst Michael Shlisky has recently lowered the firm’s price target on Nikola shares to $10 from $12 while maintaining a Neutral rating.
Based on the previous closing price of $8.44 per share, the new price target implies an upside potential of 18.4%.
In a new research note, the analyst justified the upside potential of the better than expected sales performance and business developments including new stations and a new hydrogen refueling record recently announced.
In mid-June, when the stock was trading at $0.49 per share, the analyst had reiterated the firm’s rating on the shares while reaffirming the $1 price target — representing an upside potential of 104%.
The Autonomous & Electric Vehicles ETF from Global X has recently filed a new SEC form disclosing that reduced its stake in Nikola by 14.01% in May.
As of the end of the second quarter, the ETF was holding 7,580,959 Nikola shares valued at more than $58.2 million. Previously, in the first three months of the year, holdings reached over 8,81 million shares in the company.
In March, the company inaugurated its first HYLA high-pressure refueling station in Southern California. The Nikola followed up with the opening of a second station in the region two months later.
In July, as the company continued expanding its infrastructure across the U.S. and Canada, Nikola’s station located in California achieved a record day by refueling 28 trucks and dispensing over 850 kg of hydrogen.
Written by Cláudio Afonso | LinkedIn | X
