If the name Nikola means something to you, it’s because you remember the EV startup previewing and promising the world an all-electric pickup. Scandal derailed that project last year, you may also recall. But now Nikola has instead delivered its first two semi trucks to Total Transportation Services Inc, a transportation company operating in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, California.
About that scandal. Recall that Nikola founder and president, Trevor Milton, resigned in the wake of a government fraud investigation, which prompted General Motors (GM) to scale back its deal with the company. Milton was charged with fraud earlier this year and Nikola kiboshed development of the Badger model that was supposed to be built by GM, turning its focus instead to its work on developing an all-electric semi truck. Late last week, the firm announced that it had delivered the first units of its Tre model to one of its customers as part of a pilot program.
The Tre is said to have a range of about 530 km, attained via a 753-kWh battery, with a total output of 645 hp and the ability to travel at 120 km/h. Nikola says its model can be recharged from 10 to 80 percent in two hours at a maximum recharging power of 240 kW, and it can carry up to 82,000 lb. Nikola is also planning to produce a Tre with a hydrogen fuel cell powertrain. In that case, a range of some 800 km is expected.
Total Transportation Services Inc (TTSI) has received confirmation from Nikola that it will receive 100 trucks following a trial program of two electric-powered Tre and two hydrogen-powered Tre semis. Nikola did not say exactly when TTSI will receive that order, but it does say that, after the pilot program ends, it aims to deliver 30 all-electric Tre trucks to the company in 2022. In 2023, 70 hydrogen models would follow.
Nikola and its European partner Iveco also have an agreement with the Hamburg Port Authority in Germany to deliver 25 electric Tre semis in 2022.
While the transition to all-electric passenger vehicles is, according to experts, critical in the long-term for helping the planet, the transformation of the freight industry should not be forgotten, as its current footprint is also major.
