Nikola provided the preliminary results of its battery pack investigations and, as a precautionary measure, announced a voluntary recall of approximately 209 Class 8 Tre battery-electric vehicles (BEVs). Nikola is currently in the process of filing this voluntary recall with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and is placing a temporary hold on new BEV sales until a resolution is in place.
These actions do not affect the hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) currently in production as the truck’s battery pack has a different design, Nikola said.
According to Nikola, a reputable third-party investigator found a coolant leak inside a single battery pack that was found to be the probable cause of the truck fire at the company’s headquarters in Phoenix, Ariz., on June 23, 2023. The findings were further corroborated by a minor thermal incident that impacted one pack on an engineering validation truck parked at the company’s Coolidge, Ariz., plant on Aug. 10. No one was injured in either incident.
Internal investigations from Nikola’s safety and engineering teams indicate a single supplier component within the battery pack as the likely source of the coolant leak and efforts are underway to provide a field remedy in the coming weeks.
Additional information, updates and required customer actions will be announced in the coming weeks.
