Iveco and Nikola used the IAA Transportation event last month to take the wraps off the first product developments of their joint-venture agreement with the launch of two new heavy duty trucks - a battery electric vehicle now available to order and a prototype (or as the company prefers to call it a beta version) of a new fuel cell electric vehicle. Iveco, the commercial vehicle brand of Iveco Group, and Nikola, a US-based relative newcomer to the truck producing ranks, announced a joint venture in 2019 and in 2021 inaugurated Iveco’s German truck factory in Ulm as the manufacturing home for the new joint-developed vehicles for the Eurpoean market.
The two vehicles, suited for missions of approximately 500 km (BEV) or 800 km (FCEV) in their initial configurations, confirm once more the visible progress of the partnership between Iveco Group and Nikola. They are also a testament of the state-of-the-art capabilities of the two Companies’ joint-venture manufacturing facility, inaugurated in 2021 in Ulm, Germany, which features an assembly line specifically designed for electric vehicles.
“Iveco Group and Nikola enjoy a solid partnership that began in 2019,” stated Gerrit Marx, CEO, Iveco Group. “Together, we have met every milestone on our path towards deploying zero-emission heavy-duty trucks in North America and Europe, in an unprecedented fast track from design to market, despite all the challenges we have faced along the way. And we have every intention of continuing with this fast-paced and constantly evolving journey.”
“The Nikola zero-emission Tre BEV and Tre FCEVs are true game changers in commercial trucking,” added Michael Lohscheller, President, Nikola Corporation. “Specifically developed as electric vehicles, they deliver performance and a driving experience that can compete with their diesel-powered peers in the toughest heavy-duty missions. They offer operationally and financially viable zero-emission solutions for regional applications and long-distance hauling that will give customers a real competitive advantage.”
The Nikola Tre platform, based on the successful Iveco S-Way truck, features an electric axle designed and produced by FPT Industrial, Iveco’s power train arm, and uses Nikola’s electric technology. The Iveco and Nikola teams have adopted a modular approach to this platform so it’s capable of hosting both battery and fuel-cell power units.
The new Nikola Tre BEV Artic 4×2 is now available for sale in Europe. The vehicle, which has a wheelbase of 4.021 mm, features 9 batteries with a total energy storage up to 738 kWh, which delivers a range of approximately 500 km. Charging (10-90% SOC) only takes an estimated 162 minutes, with a 175 kW charger. Charging up to 350 kW is expected later this year. With a total 738 kWh of energy and the 480 kW continuous power of the FPT Industrial e-Axle, it is best suited to hub- to-hub deliveries and regional haulage.
The Nikola Tre FCEV Artic 6×2 iprototype features a steering tag axle and a new cab with improved aerodynamic performance. With a wheelbase of 3.932 mm, it can accommodate approximately 70 usable kilograms of hydrogen at 700-bar pressure. This capacity, together with its fast-refuelling time of just under 20 minutes, enables a range of up to 800km, claims the company. The new vehicle is expected to hit the European market in 2024.
