Iveco has confirmed that its plans to produce what began as the Nikola Tre battery electric and hydrogen fuel cell tractors under its own name are proceeding, with the first deliveries of production vehicles just a few months away.
This follows the announcement in March that the joint venture between Nikola and Iveco would be ended, with each partner focussing on their own local markets .The result is that Iveco has acquired full ownership of the joint venture factory at Ulm, Germany, and will supply Nikola in North America with S-WAY vehicles and associated technology, under licence.
Two versions, based on the current Iveco S-WAY, will be the battery electric HD BEV, with a claimed range of 500km from 9 battery packs totalling 738kWh, and the hydrogen fuel cell HD FCEV, with up to 800km from its 70kg of hydrogen stored at 700bar. Both feature electric axles from FTP Industrial, electronics from Bosch and batteries by the established North American company Proterra.
The first seed BEV models were three units delivered to the Port of Hamburg last year. European deliveries of production vehicle, 4x2 BEVs and the FCEV model which was shown at Hannover in a 6x2 version, are scheduled to happen in the last quarter of this year. France, Germany and Switzerland are quoted as the initial destinations for the FCEV. When it was still involved, Nikola claimed that some UK orders had been placed, but there is still no news on availability of RHD examples. Nor is there any word yet on pricing. The only indication we have is Nikola’s estimate given at last autumn’s IAA show that the cost of a full acquisition package, including a comprehensive seven-year/million-kilometre warranty, would be in the region of €400,000, but we’ve had no further update since the separation.
