What happened

Shares of Workhorse Group (WKHS -0.13%), a maker of electric commercial vehicles, were trading higher on Monday, as most electric-vehicle stocks rallied to open the week.

As of 1:30 p.m. EDT, Workhorse's shares were up about 12.5% from Friday's closing price.

So what

There was no big news driving Workhorse's stock higher on Monday. The company's shares, along with others in its peer group, were moving higher on Monday following a sell-off last last week. 

WKHS Chart

WKHS data by YCharts.

Shares of several special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) that are in the process of merging with electric-vehicle start-ups fell sharply last Thursday, after Securities and Exchange Commission chair Jay Clayton said the agency is examining the disclosures of such companies. 

Two Workhorse vans are shown outside the company's headquarters.

The fortunes of Workhorse, an emerging maker of electric package-delivery vans, are closely tied to those of electric-pickup start-up Lordstown Motors. Image source: Workhorse Group.

SPACs, so-called "blank-check" companies formed by investors to take smaller companies public via mergers, have come under closer scrutiny in the wake of allegations that electric-truck start-up Nikola misled investors. Nikola went public via a merger with SPAC VectoIQ Acquisition in early June.

The group is likely rising today as investors have reassessed the risks of SEC scrutiny and decided that last week's sell-off may have been overblown. 

Now what

Workhorse isn't a SPAC-related company; it went public way back in 2010. But its fortunes are to a considerable extent tied to a company that is: Workhorse owns 10% of Lordstown Motors, an electric pickup-truck start-up that is in the process of merging with SPAC DiamondPeak Holdings. 

For the time being, at least, it's a safe bet that as DiamondPeak's stock goes, so will Workhorse's, and vice-versa. Auto investors, take note.