It seems that the history of Nikola will not stop with the prototypes. Mass production of two models will start at the beginning of the next decade. Nikola Tesla, considered to be an equivalent of Tesla among trucks, has incredible range and is emission-free.
The prototype of Nikola One was presented by the manufacturer of e-trucks in December last year. At that time the vehicle did have not ready interior or a drive which was supposed to provide the incredible performance. Skeptics expected that the electric truck with such amazing parameters may prove to be, as the proverb says, a pie in the sky. They were wrong.
The American Nikola Motor Company is planning to start mass production of Nikola One (for long distance transport) and Nikola Two (for local transport) already in 2021.
Photo: nikolamotor.com
How is this possible? The manufacturer has recently announced the cooperation with Bosch, which will provide it with electric motors – eAxle.
The invention of Bosch combines engine, gearbox and axle. Each of the axes will generate and transfer to the wheels the power of max. 372 kW (505 HP). Therefore a tractor with 6×4 configuration will have two such systems in the back part and its power will exceed 1000 HP.
Importantly, the electric motors will be connected with the hydrogen system. Fuel cells will generate electricity, so the truck will have the incredible range of 1900 km with no fumes emission.
In the era of EU limits aiming to reduce air pollution and traffic bans for vehicles powered by diesel, implemented by more and more cities, the solutions proposed by Nikola Motor Company or Tesla may soon gain popularity.
Nikola One is certainly one of few trucks that even before the were launched they gained a considerable group of customers. During pre-sales they bought about 7000 trucks for the total amount of EUR 2.3 bln.