Oct 2 (Reuters) - Nikola ( NKLA ) said on Wednesday it

delivered 88 hydrogen fuel cell electric trucks to its dealers

in the third quarter, up from 72 trucks in the previous

three-month period, signaling steady demand for the company's

big rigs.

The company had expected to sell between 80 and 100 units

during the period. Nikola ( NKLA ) had reported an 80% surge sequentially

in the second quarter.

It also said it has delivered 200 hydrogen fuel cell trucks

to dealers so far this year.

Shares of Nikola ( NKLA ) rose about 2% in premarket trading.

(Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil

D'Silva and Shilpi Majumdar)