Electric-car stocks were busy at the start of the week, with Nikola snagging a big electric truck order, Kandi reporting for the second quarter, and Alibaba-backed Xpeng filing for an IPO. Nikola stock jumped.
Nikola Stock
Early Monday, Nikola announced an order for 2,500 electric garbage trucks for Republic Services, meeting one of three major milestones promised on an earnings call last week.
The zero-emission vehicles will have a range of 150 miles and recharge overnight, Nikola said. Republic Services will integrate them into its fleet beginning in 2023, with the deal potentially expandable to 5,000 vehicles. The garbage trucks will share the Nikola Tre electric powertrain, the company's Class 8 heavy-duty truck, Nikola Chairman Trevor Milton said. Nikola is developing the Tre big-rig and the Badger pickup
On an earnings call last week, Nikola confirmed it is well on track to deliver critical milestones over the next few months, including a significant purchase agreement for its battery electric truck; an OEM manufacturing partner for its Badger pickup; and commercial collaboration partners for its hydrogen stations.
Nikola targets the commercial heavy trucking sector, as companies like Amazon and UPS seek to lower their transportation carbon footprint.
Nikola stock surged 22% to close at 44.81 Monday. The electric truck maker jumped 22% last week after it projected manufacturing and fleet testing of its electric trucks would start soon.
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China Electric Car Stocks
Separately on Monday, Kandi reported EPS of 8 cents, reversing a year-ago loss of 14 cents per share. Revenue slid 20% to $194 million. A 27.3% gain in off-road vehicle sales offset a 34% dive for EV parts.
The China EV maker also noted "meaningful progress" in a car-hailing business launching soon and a battery-swap trial for ride-sharing, which it sees as a major commercial opportunity.
Kandi will host a live event Aug. 18 kicking off presales for two all-electric EVs it's bringing to the U.S. just as tensions with China escalate.
Meanwhile, Chinese peer Xpeng Motors filed Friday for an initial public offering, following in the footsteps of Li Auto and Nio. The Li Auto IPO raised $1.1 billion last month.
Xpeng listed the size of the offering as $100 million, a placeholder that is likely to change. Alibaba contributed $215 million to its latest funding round, which gathered $900 million. It plans to list shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker XPEV.
Founded in 2015, Xpeng began deliveries of its Tesla Model 3 rival, the P7 sedan, in May. It delivered 5,185 units of its first vehicle, the G3 SUV, in the first half of 2020. A third electric sedan will launch in 2021, according to the Xpeng IPO filing.
Shares of Kandi eased 1.7% Monday, and Nio stock gained nearly 6%.
Find Aparna Narayanan on Twitter at @IBD_ANarayanan.
