Nikola Reveals its First Viable Electric Truck

Leading manufacturer of heavy-duty commercial battery-electric vehicles, fuel-cell electric vehicles, and energy solutions, Nikola Corporation finally unveiled its first viable electric truck after it was accused of faking video of a prototype by rolling it down a hill.

“It’s real, I promise!” joked Nikola chief executive Mark Russell, standing under a stylised photograph of the company’s first functioning vehicle in a factory in Ulm, Germany.

It is the first time since the group was accused of fraud by a short-seller last year, and found to have faked a video of one of its prototypes by rolling it down a hill, that Russell had a viable product to show the world — a white, heavy-duty Tre electric truck, built by Italian manufacturer Iveco.

Depending on the load, it could travel more than 550km on a single charge in “ideal conditions”, Iveco and Nikola said. But gone was the hype that typified the presentations of Nikola founder Trevor Milton, who now faces charges from US federal prosecutors for misleading investors about his company’s products and technology.

The partnership with Iveco — which includes plans for a hydrogen-powered truck that was also unveiled on Wednesday, but will not enter production until 2023 — has become central to Nikola’s business plans, after General Motors scaled down its proposed partnership with the company, causing it to axe plans for a heavily trailed pick-up truck.

The Ulm site, which was unused after manufacturing of combustion engine trucks was moved abroad, but was resuscitated by Iveco for this project, will be able to produce 3,000 units of either truck a year when fully operational, Iveco chief executive Gerrit Marx said.

The companies also signed a memorandum of understanding with Hamburg port, to supply 25 Tre electric trucks in 2022. The port of Long Beach, California, has already signed a letter of intent to order the trucks.

For now, however, the few dozen trucks produced at the 50,000 square meter plant in Ulm will all be exported to the US, before European versions (which are of different lengths and turning circles) are available in 2023. Another manufacturing plant is due to open in Arizona next month.