Nikola Motor is recalling all of the battery-powered electrical vans it has delivered to date is suspending gross sales after an investigation into latest fires discovered a coolant leak inside a battery pack because the trigger.
There are a complete of 209 Tre battery-powered electrical vans within the market between sellers and clients,
The corporate is at the moment within the technique of submitting this voluntary recall with the Nationwide Freeway Visitors Security Administration (NHTSA) and is putting a brief maintain on new BEV gross sales till a decision is in place.
These actions don’t have an effect on the hydrogen gasoline cell electrical automobile (FCEV) at the moment in manufacturing because the truck’s battery pack has a special design.
Following an August 10 presentation of preliminary findings from Exponent, a good third-party investigator, a coolant leak inside a single battery pack was discovered to be the possible explanation for the truck fireplace on the firm’s headquarters in Phoenix, Ariz. on June 23, 2023. The findings have been additional corroborated by a minor thermal incident that impacted one pack on an engineering validation truck parked on the firm’s Coolidge, Ariz. plant on Aug. 10. Nobody was injured in both incident.
Inner investigations from Nikola’s security and engineering groups point out a single provider part inside the battery pack because the seemingly supply of the coolant leak and efforts are underway to supply a area treatment within the coming weeks.
Tre BEV vans might stay in operation, however for optimum efficiency and security, the Nikola crew encourages all clients and sellers to right away take the next actions:
– Place the Foremost Battery Disconnect (MBD) change into the “ON” place always to allow real-time automobile monitoring and security programs operation
– Contemplate parking vans outdoors to permit for over-the-air updates and higher connectivity with Fleet Command, Nikola’s truck monitoring system
The corporate’s software program programs are being utilized in real-time to watch vans within the area intently and frequently assess dangers. So far, solely two (2) battery packs have skilled a thermal occasion, out of greater than 3,100 packs on vans produced up to now (lower than 0.07%).
Extra data, updates and required buyer actions might be introduced within the coming weeks.
“At Nikola we take security very severely,” mentioned Steve Girsky, Nikola’s CEO. “We said from the start that as quickly as our investigations have been concluded we would offer an replace, and we are going to proceed our transparency as we be taught extra.”
The corporate’s preliminary assertion on June 23 alluded to foul play as a potential explanation for the incident, based mostly on video footage displaying a automobile parked subsequent to the impacted vans and rapidly pulling away after a vivid flash and the graduation of the hearth. Intensive inside and third party-led speculation testing, worker and contractor interviews, and hours of video footage assessment has since prompt foul play or different exterior elements have been unlikely to have brought about the incident.
Aug 14, 2023