Nikola Corp.’s strategic accomplice Robert Bosch Gmbh reduce its stake within the electric-truck startup to under 5 p.c after a lockup for early buyers expired and Normal Motors downgraded its partnership with the corporate.

Bosch, the world’s largest auto provider and a high Nikola shareholder, decreased its stake to 4.9 p.c, in keeping with a securities submitting made public on Wednesday. The German firm beforehand reported a 6.4 p.c stake in Nikola as of June 15.

Shares of Nikola fell 1 p.c in morning buying and selling to $18.14.

The Phoenix-based startup’s settlement with Bosch to “develop, construct, take a look at and help” numerous elements for prototypes, together with a fuel-cell system, dates to 2017. Nikola advised Bloomberg in September Bosch will provide gasoline cells for its deliberate European-built gasoline cell-powered vehicles.

Representatives for Nikola had no quick remark.

A Bosch spokesman within the U.S. mentioned his firm trimmed its holding in Nikola after the Nov. 30 expiration of the lockup interval.

“Our preliminary funding was primarily meant to help the event of hydrogen expertise. The discount of a few of our shares in Nikola passed off after a holding interval underneath stock-exchange regulation,” mentioned Tim Wieland, the corporate spokesman.

Clouded future

The expiration of promoting restrictions on sure Nikola insiders and different early buyers akin to Bosch freed up a big chunk of shares of its float for public buying and selling. A block of shares equal to 1.9 p.c of the float traded on the 9:30 a.m. market opening in New York on Tuesday.

That has put additional strain on the corporate’s already depressed shares following GM’s choice to cut back its relationship with Nikola. GM’s reassessment of a tentative deal introduced in September has clouded Nikola’s future.

Nikola CEO Mark Russell, who owns shares within the firm instantly and thru an entity known as T&M Residual, advised Bloomberg he lately agreed to increase a lockup on these shares together with a number of different unspecified strategic shareholders.

Bosch ranks No. 1 on the Automotive Information listing of the highest 100 international suppliers with worldwide gross sales to automakers of $46.55 billion in 2019.