Nikola Recalls 209 Battery-Electric Trucks and Pauses Sales After Pack Fires

On August 11, 2023, Nikola Corp. announced it would voluntarily recall approximately 209 Class 8 Tre battery-electric trucks and temporarily halt sales of the model, after investigations into two battery pack fires.

The findings

Nikola said an investigation conducted with safety consultant Exponent found the probable cause of a June 23 fire at its Phoenix headquarters to be a coolant leak inside a single battery pack. Nikola's safety and engineering teams believed a single supplier component was the likely source of the leak.

Nikola had initially suggested foul play in the June fire, which damaged other trucks parked nearby, FreightWaves reported. The company said it now considered foul play unlikely.

A second, minor thermal incident occurred on August 10 and affected one battery pack on an engineering validation truck at Nikola's plant in Coolidge, Arizona. No one was injured in either event.

Nikola said only two of more than 3,100 battery packs used in trucks built to date had been involved in fires, less than 0.07%. FreightWaves reported that the packs were produced by Romeo Power, which Nikola had acquired in 2022.

Guidance for customers

The company said trucks could remain in service. It recommended that customers and dealers keep the main battery disconnect switched on so real-time monitoring and safety systems would work, and that they consider parking trucks outside to allow over-the-air updates and better connectivity with its Fleet Command monitoring system. FreightWaves noted that parking outside is often recommended in fire-related recalls to keep a fire from spreading to nearby structures.

Nikola said its hydrogen fuel cell electric truck was not affected.

"We stated from the beginning that as soon as our investigations were concluded we would provide an update, and we will continue our transparency as we learn more," CEO Steve Girsky said.

The announcement came the same week that Volvo Group North America disclosed a recall of some Volvo VNR Electric and Mack LR Electric trucks over potential battery fire risk, FreightWaves reported.

What it means for drivers and fleets

For the fleets operating Nikola's battery-electric Tre, the August 2023 recall meant keeping trucks in service under the company's monitoring guidance while waiting for a remedy, and reviewing where those trucks were parked and charged. For carriers evaluating electric trucks more broadly, the two recalls in a single week were a reminder to ask manufacturers about battery monitoring, thermal event procedures and recall support. Fleets also had to plan around Nikola's sales pause if they had been counting on adding more battery-electric units.