(Yicai Global) March 23 -- Shares of Pivot Automotive Products rallied after the Chinese firm said its product will feature in a new model of US electric truck maker Nikola.

Pivot's stock price [SHE: 301181] surged as much as 8.6 percent to CNY37.75 (USD5.90) intraday. The shares are still almost a fifth down this year.

The Chinese firm's coolant hose connectors will be used in the Nikola Tre battery-electric vehicle, the Jiangsu province-based supplier said in a statement yesterday. It was citing a letter from ContiTech North America, an affiliate of German auto parts maker Continental, which ordered the part.

Pivot will deliver the product on time as Nikola is expected to start mass production of the vehicle model this year, according to the Chinese company. Founded in 2014, Phoenix-based Nikola delivered its first two pilot vehicles to a trucking company in California last December.

The order marks the first breakthrough for Pivot in all-electric trucks and it should help enhance the firm's competitiveness in this market, the company added.

Editor: Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi