BrightDrop, the new General Motors business-to-business electric first-to-last-mile delivery subsidiary, will sell 12,600 of its vans to Merchants Fleet.
General Motors is not the first automaker to commit to science-based carbon neutrality. Industry experts agree it will accelerate trucking electrification and the greening of the supply chain.
FreightWaves Truck Talk is a weekly newsletter adding perspective, context and commentary to industry news and trends.
End-to-end ecosystem combines Navistar trucks, GM fuel cell systems and mobile hydrogen producer in test on dedicated J.B. Hunt Transport routes.
General Motors will spend $800 million to make a plant in Ingersoll, Canada the home of its first electric commercial delivery vans.
When he tried to sell GM’s iconic Hummer brand to the Chinese a decade ago, Jim Taylor never imagined he would import tiny electric delivery van bodies from China to finish in the plant that spawned the hulking SUV.
General Motors has created a new battery-electric first-to-last-mile business eyeing an $850 billion delivery market. Following a second pilot program, FedEx Express is slated to get the first 500 units of the EV600.
Borderlands is a weekly rundown of developments in the world of United States-Mexico cross-border trucking and trade. This week: Border bridge project gets presidential permit; Honda to build electric vehicle in Mexico; Texas-based Spirit Truck Lines acquired by Forgelight; and CBP seizes meth hidden in tortilla press.
With 2020 in the rearview, there are promising signs that point towards industry growth if one crucial thing takes place: tight inventory levels need to be replenished.
Nikola is recasting its board of directors to make crisis management and business expertise available to management as the electric truck startup seeks to regain credibility lost after a stratospheric beginning as a public company.
In the latest blow to already beleaguered Nikola Corp., Republic Services canceled an order for 2,500 battery-electric refuse trucks. It further calls into question how Nikola will generate revenue.
U.K.-based Arrival picks Charlotte, North Carolina, as its North American headquarters. It’s a 30-minute drive from its planned microfactory in South Carolina and close to UPS, a major customer for its electric vans.
General Motors is not playing games when it comes to EV expansions. GM’s next move? Offering buyouts for Cadillac dealers who don’t want to invest in the necessary EV upgrades.
Arizona officials rooting for Nikola Corp. to make good on its plans for a $600 million electric truck assembly plant and hundreds of new jobs say construction is progressing.
Workhorse Group shares plummet as Postal Service delays delivery truck contract to early 2021. Separately, a potential short seller claims the electric delivery truck maker is worth just 20% of its valuation.
Lockup expiration sends Nikola shareholders heading for the exits for second consecutive day as stock loses about 40% of its value.
With equity stake off the table in the Nikola-General Motors deal, what does that mean for the future of the Badger electric pickup truck?
Nikola telegraphed that an equity deal with General Motors was iffy following a short seller’s fraud claims by the electric truck startup. On Monday, GM and Nikola said they may work together to integrate GM fuel cells in Nikola trucks, a small piece of the grander plan.
Excerpt: Nikola and GM signed a nonbinding memorandum of understanding to use the automaker’s Hydrotec fuel cells in its heavy-duty trucks. But GM walks away from taking an equity stake and the Badger electric pickup is dropped.
There is an ongoing race for EV domination as automakers across the globe push to be No. 1 in the EV market. Today’s focus? Tesla’s strategy to stay on top.
Nikola Corp. founder Trevor Milton can sell his 92 million shares on Monday, creating a glut of stock that could drive the already volatile share price lower.
In today’s edition of The Daily Dash, the battle lines are being drawn in the regulatory fight over broker transparency. Plus, J.B. Hunt announced several executive changes, and self-driving startup TuSimple secures $350 million in funding.
Detroit, like the rest of the U.S, is experiencing a resurgence of positive COVID-19 tests. However, the auto industry is projected to continue operations as normal thanks to effective virus protocols in place.
With European investors and loads of experience in Asia, Hyzon Motors is targeting the U.S. for heavy-duty fuel cells it plans to build in General Motors’ former research and development facility.
One of the world’s largest OEMs to back California and Biden transportation electrification goals
While critics who oppose the USMCA believe this deal will ultimately disincentivize automotive companies to keep manufacturing facilities in North America due to an increase in production costs, there are strong country-of-origin protections in place that we believe will intensify North American automotive production.
In today’s edition of The Daily Dash, J.B. Hunt is not expecting a slowdown in freight through at least the first quarter of 2021. Plus, Nikola Corp. and General Motors continue talking about a battery agreement, and some roads are just made for truckers.
The official line on continuing negotiations is unchanged. But Nikola’s CEO refers to GM batteries and fuel cells for its trucks as alternatives.
Startup gets $780 million from Diamond Peak Holdings Corp. to build commercial fleet-focused electric pickup truck.
The self-driving vehicle company announces new leadership hires; claims 600 employees.
Barry Engle and his Qell Acquisition Corp. raised $380 million to invest in a next-generation mobility startup. But how many great candidates are left in the SPAC craze?
The vote to complete a reverse merger for commercial electric pickup startup Lordstown Motors is set for Oct. 22 amid greater than run-of-the-mill business risks.
Second-largest auto supplier merger of 2020 positions BorgWarner for greater role in electrification while completing the breakup of General Motors’ once-vast parts organization.
As Nikola’s talks continue with General Motors to preserve a supply deal for batteries and fuel cells, evidence is mounting that the Nikola Badger electric pickup associated with departed founder Trevor Milton may become roadkill.
After three weeks of negative media following a short seller’s allegations of fraud, Nikola is fighting back. The startup electric truck maker showed a timeline of planned milestones to reel back fleeing investors and keep customers from canceling orders.
A week after renewing confidence in embattled Nikola Corp. and indicating its deal to manufacture the startup’s electric pickup truck was on track, General Motors has dropped its supportive language.
Nikola Corp.’s hunt for a partner to build hydrogen fueling stations for its electric trucks stalled because of a short seller report attacking founder Trevor Milton on the startup’s technology claims, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The fallout at Nikola could place additional scrutiny on new public offerings and nontraditional special purpose acquisition companies.
Three class-action lawsuits have been filed against Nikola Corp. and its founder Trevor Milton, since short seller Hindenburg Research published its damaging report about the electric truck startup on Sept. 10.
VCs talk SPACs and clean tech investment in wake of Nikola scandal.
Shares of electric truck maker Nikola Corp. sag 20% on the announcement its founder and executive chairman was stepping down, following the fallout from a short seller report questioning the company’s technology claims.
Nikola founder Trevor Milton’s departure from the company “was not a termination,” the company said in a federal securities filing. And while Milton remains a billionaire on paper, he gives up a lot in leaving the startup electric truck maker.
Short seller Hindenburg Research renewed its attack on Nikola after successfully beating down its shares. Nikola clams up as to whether the SEC is investigating.
After delaying a rebuttal to short seller Hindenburg Research’s screed on the electric truck startup’s integrity, Nikola publishes detailed responses to 15 of the accusations Monday, calming jittery investors.
Hindenburg Research, which makes money betting against companies with high stock prices, issued a blistering takedown of Nikola, alleging massive fraud by founder Trevor Milton. Nikola says the report is trying to manipulate its stock.
After creating about 50 millionaires on paper a couple of weeks earlier, Nikola founder Trevor Milton gives another million shares of his personal holdings to 350 employees.
Former General Motors Vice Chairman Steve Girsky, who led startup truck maker Nikola to its public debut in June, earlier suggested to GM that its battery and fuel cell technology could create value for both companies.
In today’s edition of The Daily Dash, General Motors and Nikola Corp. strike a deal for fuel cells; diesel engines are a big winner from the fallout of the Volkswagen diesel emissions scandal; and trucking’s exemption from AB5 could be at risk.
Kevin and I are joined again by Ben Gordon, Managing Partner and CEO, Cambridge Capital and BGSA, to discuss the importance of the Nikola-GM partnership. We also debate whether there will be demand for exoskeletons in warehouses, as well as the role SoftBank is playing in the current tech “bubble.” Thanks as always to our […]
General Motors is putting its battery and fuel cell expertise to work for startup electric truck maker Nikola in exchange for an 11% ownership stake worth $2 billion.
General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) will become an 11% owner of electric truck startup Nikola Motors Corp. (NASDAQ: NKLA) and build the battery-electric Badger pickup as well as providing the fuel cells for Nikola’s Class 7 and 8 full-size trucks, the companies said Tuesday. GM, which plans its own electric pickup truck, also recently invested […]
Workhorse Group lost a lot of money on paper because new borrowing was tied to its exploding stock price. But it has the cash on hand to build electric trucks into 2022.
Startup electric truck maker Lordstown Motors takes trendy reverse merger route to public ownership, and a $1.6 billion valuation.
Owners of low-priced warrants for new shares and pre-merger discount buyers registered to cash out of electric truck startup Nikola leading to an after hours selloff on Friday, July 17.
Mexican auto factories exported 196,173 vehicles in June, a 38.8% decline compared to the same period in 2019.
Borderlands is a weekly rundown of developments in the world of United States-Mexico cross-border trucking and trade. This week: Mexico among toughest countries for foreign investors; Houston CBP seizes animal bones, homemade soap; customs broker expands in Laredo; and GM, union disagree on Texas plant closure.
Nikola won’t have its battery-electric Badger pickup for sale until sometime in 2022, but it’s following rival Tesla in building buzz by taking matchable $5,000 deposits ahead of announcing a manufacturing partner.
Lordstown Motors says first-year production of electric commercial pickup trucks is sold out – if the startup secures the $450 million it needs to retool a former General Motors car plant to make full-size pickups.
Workhorse Group, whose stock price is surging, can begin ramping up production of its electric delivery van now that it has received a final federal safety signoff.
Lordstown Motors will reveal its commercial electric pickup truck next week even as
the startup faces a deadline to raise hundreds of millions to convert a former General Motors car plant to truck production.
Dennis Mooney will help the startup commercialize autonomous trucks
The vehicle, adding to an increasingly crowded space, is reportedly an attempt to upstage Tesla
Navistar included only one full month of impact from the COVID-19 pandemic in its loss-making second quarter. How bad will it be for manufacturers who report on a traditional April-June quarter?
Reversing course for the third time, Mexican officials said auto plants could open before June 1 as long as manufacturers follow adequate safety measures.
Mexico’s reopening will include a new four-color coding system in place by June 1 to tell people and businesses what activities will be allowed.
Dan Cushman retiring after 11 years as the head of P.A.M. Transportation. The search is underway for a permanent replacement.
Borderlands is a weekly rundown of developments in the world of United States-Mexico cross-border trucking and trade. This week: Avocado imports from Mexico fare well during pandemic; Caterpillar’s Texas distributor building new factory; General Motors to make masks in Mexico; new logistics app aids supply chain.
P.A.M. Transportation finds success calling on its “friends in the industry” as it scrambles to replace lost automotive OEM business.
Nikola Corp. filled VectoIQ’s $230 million public shell company after former Wall Street analyst and General Motors executive Steve Girsky shopped more than 100 smart transportation companies and signed 75 nondisclosure agreements and six letters of intent.
The big two automakers plan to produce more than 5 million SUVs and pickup trucks in 2026, but only plan on making 320,000 electric vehicles the same year.
The coronavirus pandemic has caused a sharp drop-off in demand for tires and cars, causing manufacturers across North and South America to furlough workers and implement partial factory shutdowns.
Shippers combat coronavirus with new procedures, questions for drivers; carriers advise proper hygiene, while Amazon requires sanitization of workstations, vehicles
After shunning public ownership, fuel cell truck startup Nikola watched as the WeWork debacle made private fundraising harder. Its merger with VectoIQ brings in about $700 million to help pay to build Nikola’s Class 8 truck plant and the beginning of a hydrogen fuel station network.
Higher margins from completed vehicles help offset hit from GM strike as Canadian auto manufacturer warns of potential impact of coronavirus.
Darren Prokop writes about the volatility in trucking, and how ecommerce may help less-than-truckload carriers recover in 2020.
Big investors like Carl Icahn will have a say in whether Volkswagen’s truck group buys the 83% of Navistar it does not already own, but CEO Troy Clarke’s expected age-related departure this year seems more than a coincidence in TRATON’s $2.9 billion bid.
Once the auto industry’s largest supplier, Delphi will disappear as it is absorbed into BorgWarner.
Crowley Maritime Corp., part of Jacksonville, Florida-based Crowley Holdings Inc,. has realigned its marine services organization and introduced new leadership. Crowley Marine Services, part of the company’s shipping group, will be made up of three business segments: offshore service, ship assist and tank escort, and engineering services. Jeff Andreini, Porter Sesnon and Coulston “Cole” van […]
Honda and Isuzu said Wednesday they will work together to apply Honda R&D expertise in fuel cells to Isuzu trucks in Japan.
Navistar will cut 10% of its worldwide workforce even as it gained market share for the third consecutive year.
Saudi Arabia angry at low oil prices; consumer spend set to increase during holiday season; European wine production battles climate change.
Navistar will book a $140 million hit to fourth-quarter revenue because of the six-week United Auto Workers’ strike at General Motors.
Workhorse Group signed several partnership deals to leverage its intellectual property in electric trucks and drones in the third quarter while more than doubling its loss of a year ago.
General Motors Co. confirmed the sale of its shuttered Lordstown Assembly complex in northeast Ohio to startup Lordstown Motors Corp., which plans to build a battery-powered electric pickup truck focused on fleet customers.
Roadrunner’s third quarter earnings report resembled a triage list indicating that the company’s restructuring path will be a bumpy one.
GM, Toyota clash with rivals Ford, BMW that are siding with California.
General Motors strike, a personal injury lawsuit and soft freight market drive across- the-board losses.
This Week’s DHL Supply Chain/FreightWaves Pricing Power Index: 25 (Shippers) Last Week’s DHL Supply Chain/FreightWaves Pricing Power Index: 25 (Shippers) Three-Month DHL Supply Chain/FreightWaves Pricing Power Index Outlook: 45 (Shippers) The trucking industry operates in a market based on real-time demand and supply. When demand is higher than capacity, carriers gain negotiating power for rates. […]
Electric truck maker Workhorse Inc. is selling its Surefly flying car project to aerospace and defense contractor Moog Inc. for $4 million and forming a joint venture with Moog to boost its truck-based drone delivery efforts.
General Motors (GM) reported that it has temporarily suspended production of its Chevrolet Blazer SUV at its manufacturing plant in Ramos Arizpe, Mexico. Production of the Blazer will be halted due to the shortage of parts caused by the strike of 48,000 United Auto Workers against General Motors that began September 16. GM halted production […]
The impact of a United Auto Workers’ strike at Mack Trucks will nearly double next week when Volvo Trucks North America lays off about 3,000 employees because of a lack of engines and transmissions that come from a Maryland plant the companies share.
A United Auto Workers strike against Mack Trucks could soon impact its sibling Volvo Trucks because both get engines and transmissions from the same plant in Hagerstown, Maryland.
The United Auto Workers (UAW) strike against General Motors (GM) continues to take a toll on its Mexico-based facilities. GM announced October 7 it was temporarily laying off 415 workers at its plant in the Mexican city of Ramos Arizpe, around 200 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border. The Ramos Arizpe plant, which is located in […]
The United Auto Workers union strike against General Motors (GM) has forced GM to stop production at more factories across Mexico. General Motors announced it was shutting down its auto factory complex in the Mexican city of Silao as of October 1, due to the lack of needed components from plants located in the United […]
Canadian auto parts firm’s shares plunge by more than 10% after it warns of earnings hit from a slowdown in General Motors orders.
General Motors halted operations at two maquiladoras (factories) located in the Mexican city of Piedras Negras, a consequence of the ongoing strike by 49,000 autoworkers in Detroit. The two maquiladoras – known as the Lear and EKM maquiladoras – assemble components used in the manufacture of vehicles made by General Motors, according to El Financiero. […]
Challenger Motor Freight hopes the tech-centric approach will help attract millennial truckers to Ontario-based carrier
Two big events hit trucking like a hammer this week. What are the long run implications?
Oshawa facility operating at half capacity as UAW strike in the United States takes a toll on supply chain.
The halt in vehicle production at General Motors [NYSE: GM] plants on Sept. 16 over a labor dispute is expected to have ripple effects throughout the automakers’ supply chain, but experts say the severity of any business interruption will depend on the duration of the strike by the United Auto Workers. The most immediate casualty […]
