We told you recently about Volta Trucks ramping up its production of all-electric delivery vehicles for making commerce cleaner in the crowded cities of Britain and the Continent. Environmentally friendly trucks are going to be making curbside dropoffs and pickups on our shores, too. General Motors has just announced a new strategic partnership with Nikola Corporation, the Phoenix-based designer of trucks in several categories, to supply the truck-producing startup with both GM’s Ultium battery system and related Hydrotec fuel-cell technology. In return, GM will receive a $2 billion stake in Nikola, with the first fruit of the partnership expected to be the Nikola Badger, a forthcoming fullsize electric pickup for which orders are now being accepted.
The deal will see GM supplying alternative-fuels technology to Nikoka, whose planned product lineup includes heavy trucks fueled only by electricity. Among the products involved will be the Nikola One, an over-the-road tractor that will produce up to 1,000 horsepower with a 750-mile range, and the vehicle you see below, the Nikola Refuse, an all-electric chassis for solid-waste collection vehicles that can process up to 1,000 cans of household trash per charge. We really, really like the idea of a clean garbage truck. The Badger pickup, set for a late-2022 production startup, will be offered in both EV and fuel-cell versions.
Jim Donnelly On Wheels 