Nikola announces new COO and moves into Canada

The US truck maker is expanding its dealership network to Canada to sell Class 8 trucks there. Organisations can benefit from significant subsidies there, making it an attractive market for Nikola. Also, Mary Chan is joining the company as COO.

Mary Chan is joining the American Truck maker Nikola as Chief Operating Officer (COO). Her appointment will be effective 9 October, 2023. She “will lead the company’s engineering, program, product, supply chain, and manufacturing teams.”

Chan, who previously worked as a Managing Partner at VectoIQ, assisted with the public launch of Nikola Corporation. She was also President of the Global Connected Consumer group at General Motors and held a series of positions as executive or senior vice president at companies such as Dell, Alcatel-Lucent and Lucent Technologies.

“My career has been dedicated to pioneering smart transportation and wireless communications across automotive, telecommunications, and high-tech industries,” says Chan. “Joining Nikola represents the culmination of this journey, and I’m excited to be part of the team that will drive trucking to a zero-emissions future.”

Nikola is not only expanding its team but also its dealership network. It now coorporates with ITD Industries in Canada, its first dealer there, for the sale of Nikola’s Class 8 trucks. The showroom will be integrated into ITD’s manufacturing facility in Toronto and span more than 78,000 square feet.

“Bringing ITD on board as our first Canadian dealer is an exciting move for Nikola. Canada’s zero-emission vehicle friendly environment for Class 8 trucks, fueled by attractive incentives and its ambitious carbon reduction goals, makes it a strategic market for the future of transportation,” said Nikola President and CEO Steve Girsky.

ITD is an “industry-leading commercial trailer manufacturer and technology business headquartered in Toronto,” Nikola says. With the expansion of its partner network into the country, Nikola hopes for significant growth in the market. Its trucks qualify for the Incentives for Medium- and Heavy-Duty Zero-Emission Vehicles (iMHZEV) Program there, which offers organisations subsidies of up to 200,000 Canadian Dollars for a Nikola H2 truck and up to 150,000 Canadian dollars for a BEV model.

nikolamotor.com (COO), nikolamotor.com (Canada)