For the first time, the new pricing structure will incorporate discounts at different purchasing volume levels, which will not only provide clarity on pricing, but also further benefits for customers.

moveero’s Chief Sales Office, Hugo Burgers, explained:

“We are introducing this change to ensure consistency across our Hubs & Spindle product offering and to provide a sustainable pricing structure for our customers. Having seen dramatic changes to our production costs over the course of 2021, this new way of pricing will provide transparency, an ability to respond as the costs of production fluctuate, and pass on advantages of production efficiencies to our customers.”

moveero’s Hubs & Spindles range is manufactured at the company’s Armstrong facility in Iowa and includes not only an extensive range of standard hubs and spindles but also completely customizable hub systems for off-highway machinery. Capacities range from 500 pounds (227 kg) to 57,000 pounds (25,855 kg), with the largest hub in the range being ideal for single-axle vehicles carrying out heavy-duty applications, such as grain carts, slurry wagons, and towed scrapers. Ron Peta, Sales Director USA comments:

“Implementing a sustainable, customer-focused structure based on volume thresholds will help support future product innovation across our extensive product range, including our patented Profi-Hub system, all of which are supported by the world’s largest test hub stand, based at our US R&D center of excellence in the US.

The new structure will be applied to the Hubs & Spindle range manufactured and sold in the US only and which will commence from January 2022 and be updated on a quarterly basis.

Source: moveero

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Raw materials cost and freight rates continue to rise at a dramatic pace in the global commodity markets. Some of the raw materials have shown alarming increases, up to 30%, and can be a cause of concern, calling for further actions few months down the line.

Whilst Yokohama Off-Highway Tires Europe (YOHT) has – and will continue to absorb most of the additional costs, it is inevitable to pass on part of the increase onto the market. The resulting price increases of around 5% will be fairly moderate and be applicable for products from all plants and across the entire YOHT portfolio.

“Customers have received the new price lists at the start of June 2021; the price increase will take effect from 1 July 2021”

explains Koen van Gemert, Head of Finance – Europe, at Yokohama Off-Highway Tires.

The first price increase was implemented on 1^st January 2021, while the second took effect on 1 April 2021. This 3^rd price increase will apply again to the entire portfolio of Yokohama Off-Highway Tires Europe brands (Alliance and Galaxy).

Source: Yokohama

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The AGCO Agriculture Foundation announced its 2020 AAF Award goes to the Global Animal Partnership (G.A.P.) along with a $50,000 grant to help small-scale farmers in North America strengthen their animal welfare practices and earn certifications for their production processes.

G.A.P. is one of the largest animal welfare standards and labeling organizations in North America, and its multi-level standards impact the welfare of over 416 million farm animals on more than 3,900 farms, taking into consideration each animal’s health and productivity, natural living environment, and emotional well-being.

While many small-scale producers are actively adopting and implementing humane practices, logistical issues and costs can serve as a barrier to entering a certification program. To help farmers achieve the certifications necessary, the project will leverage G.A.P.’s existing model and program specifically designed for the small-scale producer.

“We are proud to present the 2020 AAF Award to G.A.P. and believe this project is a natural fit for AGCO and the AAF, as we are committed to ensuring animal well-being while producers meet the growing demand for protein around the world. G.A.P.’s expertise in animal welfare and food systems, strengthened by our alignment with AGCO’s sustainability commitments, will help farmers in North America enhance their animal welfare practices while improving their profitability,”

said Metti Richenhagen, Director, AGCO Agriculture Foundation.

The project will create a self-sustaining peer network for producers at G.A.P. project sites and a cost-effective audit model for small-scale production. The team will also initiate supplier-based support for animal welfare and production skills and create a supply chain that supports local communities.

“With G.A.P.’s extensive partner base and network, we are now poised to help small-scale producers overcome the barriers around animal welfare. The pandemic has highlighted the interest and demand for local or regional food systems that small-scale producers could engage in. Through this partnership, we want to expand our commitment to continuously improve and drive meaningful change in animal welfare for farm animals,”

said Anne Malleau, Executive Director of G.A.P. 

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The situation on global commodity and freight markets currently leads to major effects for Yokohama Off-Highway Tires in terms of availability of, and cost for raw materials and shipment. Prices for natural rubber, synthetic rubber, and chemicals, etc. have seen a severe increase – the same is true for ocean freight cost. Despite these very challenging conditions, customers will only face a fairly moderate increase in tire prices.

“The rising cost of some major raw materials is becoming more and more of a challenge, and prices are going through the roof”,

says Angelo Noronha, President EMEA at ‎Yokohama Off-Highway Tires. He continues:

“In sum, this makes for strong effects, most of which will be absorbed by YOHT EMEA and hence will keep consequences for our customers to the minimum. However, a 4.5 to 5.5 percent increase of prices will be inevitable.”

The first price increase of 4.5% to 5.5% was implemented on Jan. 1, 2021. The new pricing will apply to the entire portfolio of Yokohama Off-Highway Tires EMEA (Alliance and Galaxy brand) and will take effect from April 1, 2021.

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Nikola believes that the Hindenburg report, and the opportunistic timing of its publication shortly after the announcement of Nikola’s partnership with General Motors Co. and the resulting positive share price reaction, was designed to provide a false impression to investors and to negatively manipulate the market in order to financially benefit short-sellers, including Hindenburg itself.

Nikola has contacted and briefed the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding Nikola’s concerns pertaining to the Hindenburg report. Nikola intends to fully cooperate with the SEC regarding its inquiry into these matters.

Nikola, an early-stage growth company, has been through extensive due diligence processes, starting with Bosch in 2017, Hanwha Group, and ValueAct Capital in 2018, CNH Industrial N.V. in 2019, and VectolQ Acquisition Corp. and General Motors in 2020. Nikola remains laser-focused on laying the groundwork toward becoming the global leader in zero-emissions transportation. The Company continues to make significant progress on its strategic initiatives:

• Nikola Tre Semi-Truck Production: The Company expects the Nikola Tre semi-truck, a pioneer battery-electric semi-truck created in collaboration with IVECO through a joint venture established in 2019 for the short-haul trucking sector, to be ready for production and available to customers by the fourth quarter of 2021. The Nikola/IVECO joint venture has enabled dedicated focus toward delivering the Tre in 2021. The Nikola Tre is a zero-emission semi-truck with over 720 kWh of battery and an approximately 300-mile range.
• Nikola Two hydrogen-electric Powered Semi-Truck Development: During 2021, Nikola will begin testing a pre-production Nikola Two, a hydrogen-electric powered semi-truck for the medium and long-haul trucking sectors, with more than 1,000 horsepower and 2,000 ft. lbs. of torque. Anheuser-Busch LLC previously announced its placement of an order for up to 800 trucks, with a prototype to be delivered by the end of 2021, testing planned for 2022, and a production version expected in the second half of 2023.

In November 2019, a fuel-cell electric driven Nikola prototype completed a zero-emission beer delivery for Anheuser-Busch on public roads while operating on hydrogen.

• Large Order for Electrified Refuse Truck: As previously announced, Nikola has received a minimum order of 2,500 electrified refuse trucks from Republic Services, Inc., with on-road testing likely to begin in early 2022 and full production deliveries expected to begin in 2023.
• Strategic Partnership with General Motors for Badger Pickup Truck: As announced last week, the Company has formed a strategic partnership with General Motors, under which General Motors will engineer, homologate, validate and manufacture Nikola’s Badger pickup truck, which will include variants with all-electric and hydrogen fuel cell powertrains. Badger production is expected to start in late 2022.

The Company also remains committed to achieving the following milestones: announcement of a hydrogen station collaboration by the end of 2020; substantial completion of Nikola’s JV manufacturing facility in Ulm, Germany by year-end 2020; and completion of Phase 1 of its greenfield manufacturing facility in Coolidge, Arizona by the fourth quarter of 2021.

Hindenburg Report

The report from Hindenburg, an activist short-seller financially motivated to manipulate the market and profit from a manufactured decline in Nikola’s stock price, contains a number of false and misleading statements regarding the Company’s operations and multi-year, groundbreaking R&D efforts. Among the starkest examples are the following:

Short Seller Mischaracterizes Quote by Bosch Employee: Following the publication of the short-seller report, Bosch stated, Bosch has also stated:

“Specific instances in the [Hindenburg] report quoting a Bosch employee were taken out of context. The employee spoke only about Bosch’s own plans for the IAA industry show and H2Haul project for the European Union.”

Nikola and Bosch are aligned on the product roadmap for the Tre truck. The five trucks are currently being built and commissioned in Ulm, Germany, and are pre-production builds. Hindenburg either recklessly misunderstands or willfully misrepresents the vehicle pre-production process to fit its narrative.

Short Seller Alleges That Nikola Buys and Does Not Make Inverters In-House: In its report, Hindenburg misrepresents that Nikola is claiming a third-party inverter is the Company’s own technology by placing a sticker over the supplier’s name. At no time did Nikola state that the inverter on the prototype truck shown in the video was the Company’s or would be used in production. Nikola has been designing, engineering, and working on its own inverters for quite some time. The Company does use third-party parts in prototype vehicles, some of which may be subsequently swapped out for its own parts in production. This is a common practice among vehicle manufacturers and Nikola often blocks supplier names from the view of media and competitors. Every program is different as they require different specifications and validation.

Short Seller Misrepresents Nikola’s Historic Position on Battery Technology: The short-seller report claims that Founder and Executive Chairman Trevor Milton made false statements regarding the Company’s battery technology following the breakdown of its transaction discussions with ZapGo Ltd. In fact, the potential battery technology advancements are related to an ongoing confidential R&D partnership with a leading academic institution, not ZapGo. The Company is excited about potential breakthroughs related to its next-generation battery technology.

Short Seller Attempts to Falsely Link Departure of Former CFO with Nikola One Deposits Announcement: Nikola’s former CFO was terminated by the Company. His departure, as well as subsequent litigation (which he voluntarily dismissed), were unrelated to the Company’s announcement that it would refund Nikola One reservation deposits. As Nikola communicated via Twitter in April 2018,

“We don’t use your money to operate our business. We want everyone to know we have never used a dollar of deposit money in the history of our company.”

Any innuendo by the short seller report that these separate events were connected and indicative of questions regarding Nikola’s use of deposits is inaccurate.

Short Seller Alleges that 2016 Nikola One “was not a real truck and was, in fact, a pusher”: The Nikola One is a real truck that sits in Nikola’s showroom. A pusher means a vehicle that was not designed to be moved by its own propulsion system. The Nikola One was, in fact, designed to be powered and driven by its own propulsion.

Here are the facts:

• Gearbox was functional and bench-tested prior to installation.
• Batteries were functional.
• Inverters functioned and powered the motors on a bench test prior to the show.
• Power steering, Suspension, Infotainment, Air Disc Brakes, High Voltage, and Air Systems were all functional.

As Nikola pivoted to the next generation of trucks, it ultimately decided not to invest additional resources into completing the process to make the Nikola One drive on its own propulsion. After pivoting, Nikola produced prototypes for the Nikola Two, which are self-propelled and have been frequently demonstrated, beginning with demonstration runs at Nikola World in April 2019.

Short Seller Distorts Nikola One 2017 Third Party “Future of Transportation” Promotion Video and Creates a Popular Lie: Hindenburg seeks to portray Nikola as misrepresenting the capabilities of the Nikola One prototype in a 2017 video produced by a third party, as “simply filmed rolling down a big hill.” Nikola never stated its truck was driving under its own propulsion in the video, although the truck was designed to do just that (as described in the previous point). The truck was showcased and filmed by a third party for a commercial. Nikola described this third-party video on the Company’s social media as “In Motion.” It was never described as “under its own propulsion” or “powertrain driven.” Nikola investors who invested during this period, in which the Company was privately held, knew the technical capability of the Nikola One at the time of their investment. This three-year-old video of a Nikola prototype is irrelevant except for the fact that the short seller is trying to use it for its main thesis. The fact is, Nikola has real working hydrogen fuel-cell powered semi-trucks. 

Short Seller Intentionally Underestimates Extent of Hydrogen Production Capabilities: Nikola continues to believe that its planned hydrogen station network, and the production and distribution of hydrogen, will provide key competitive advantages that drive sustained profitability and shareholder value over the long term. Nikola representatives occupy leadership positions in industry organizations, including as working group chairs within the worldwide International Standards Organization (Heavy Duty) hydrogen fueling standard development and the Society of Automotive Engineers fuel cell standards committee for the HD vehicles’ fuel economy. The Company has also partnered with one of the most well-known hydrogen experts in the world, Nel ASA. Further, Nikola has already installed a 1,000 kg hydrogen storage and dispensing demo station at its headquarters and ordered over $30 million of electrolyzers to support the initial hydrogen station rollout.

Short Seller Alleges NZT Program Was Scrapped after Unveiling: The program remains underway. The first NZT enclosed cab display model is sitting in Nikola’s showroom at its headquarters. The Company has since spent millions of dollars preparing the NZT enclosed cab version for production using both internal and external resources. More to come at Nikola World 2020.

Short Seller Quotes Spokesman of Fuel-Cell Competitor, Powercell AB, as Saying Nikola Battery and Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Technology is “Hot Air”: Third-party competitor views of Nikola and the Company’s technology are not relevant.

Short Seller Takes Shots at Nikola Employees: Nikola believes in talent, and each of the employees unfairly described in the short-seller report is making important contributions to the success of the Company. Nikola has built a deep bench of experienced leaders, with significant expertise in the automotive and electric-vehicles industry. Kevin Lynk is a talented mechanical engineer who has specialized in computational fluid dynamics (CFD), finite element analysis (FEA), computer-aided design (CAD), and product data management (PDM). Kevin has also played an instrumental role in the design and development of most Nikola vehicles since the beginning of the Company. Travis Milton previously owned and operated his own construction company preparing him for hydrogen station infrastructure and buildouts. Dale Prows has over 30 years of experience in supply chain and purchasing in the petrochemical and aluminum industries.

Short Seller Misrepresents Value of 2010 Contract between Swift Transportation and dHybrid Systems LLC: This agreement was from 2010, and has no connection with or association to Nikola. In its report, Hindenburg criticizes Mr. Milton’s statements about the approximately $250 million value of the contract between Swift Transportation and dHybrid (not Nikola), and cites only selected clauses to misrepresent the value of the contract as being worth “only $16 million.” What Hindenburg fails to include are the provisions in the contract whereby Swift was granted an option to acquire up to an additional 11,700 systems at $20,000 per vehicle, bringing the total potential value of the contract to $250 million.

There are dozens more inaccurate allegations made by the short seller, which are not relevant to Nikola.

Nikola is building a novel and revolutionary technology from the ground up. As part of this process, and as part of the Company’s evolution, growth, and development, Nikola has quickly and nimbly pivoted its business model based on the industry, macro environment, technology, and other factors in pursuit of the most value-enhancing path forward. Nikola remains committed to enhancing shareholder value for the long term and will not waiver from its mission.

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