Nikola Motor Company Generates $2.3 Billion in Pre-Sales in First Month

Working electric truck prototype to be unveiled on December 2, 2016 in Salt Lake City

Nikola (pronounced Neek-oh-la) Motor Company Founder and CEO Trevor Milton recently announced that $2.3 billion in reservations have been generated in the first month, totaling more than 7,000 truck reservations with deposits.  The company announced last month that it will launch an electric class 8 semi-truck, dubbed "Nikola One."

"Our technology is 10-15 years ahead of any other OEM in fuel efficiencies, MPG and emissions. We are the only OEM to have a near zero emission truck and still outperform diesel trucks running at 80,000 pounds. To have over 7,000 reservations totaling more than 2.3 billion dollars, with five months remaining until our unveiling ceremony, is unprecedented," said Milton.

The Nikola One truck leasing program costs $4000 to $5000 per month, depending on which truck configuration and options the customer chooses.  The first million miles of fuel is included with every truck sale, offsetting 100% of the monthly lease for every owner. An average diesel burns over $400,000 in fuel and racks up over $100,000 in maintenance costs over 1,000,000 miles. These costs are eliminated with the Nikola One lease.

"We believe we will pass the current market leaders like Daimler, PACCAR, Volvo and Navistar in sales orders within the next 12-24 months.  Just imagine the orders that will come in once we begin taking dealer applications.  We have shown other OEMs and their shareholders why they should be nervous about Nikola Motor Company. Some of the top class 8 dealerships in America have reached out and are willing to either add our brand or move away from their existing brands," he added.

Nikola Motor Company has already completed a seed round of funding and is working on funding a $300 million A round to be completed by December 2016. (Video)

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Driver Turnover at Truckload Carriers Falls in First Quarter

The American Trucking Associations recently revealed that truck driver turnover at truckload fleets fell in the first quarter of 2016.

"While still fairly high, the decline in turnover is reflective of the softening in the freight economy during the first quarter," said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. "Should the freight economy witness an uptick during the second half of the year, we should see both turnover and demand for drivers rise as well."

Turnover at large truckload fleets fell 13 points in the first quarter to 89% - the lowest it has been since the second quarter of 2015. For all of 2015, turnover averaged 93%.

At smaller fleets – carriers with less than $30 million in annual revenue – turnover dipped one point to 88%, the lowest point since the third quarter of 2015. For the entire year of 2015, small-fleet truckload turnover averaged 79%.