Here are two new video teasers of the battery-electric Nikola Tre semi-truck, continuing its testing in the U.S.
Both videos are about the acceleration with a trailer and load, on the road and in the snow (0-45 mph / 72 km/h). The videos will not allow us to make any conclusion about the performance, but the process seems smooth, as expected in the case of all EVs. It’s also quite noisy, which is typical for an electric drive unit that quickly changes speed under load.
Nikola said on its website that the Tre is expected to accelerate up to 2x faster than a stock diesel tractor. System output of the truck will be 645 hp (about 480 kW).
Winter testing:
Who knows, maybe at some point in the future we will see a drag race between electric semi trucks.
With the battery pack options of up to 750 kWh and a range of up to 300 miles (483 km), the fleets will be able to configure the truck for a particular application. We can guess that the first batch of use cases will be mostly for things that need a large volume, but not necessarily the full weight capacity (that affects range even more).
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Nikola Tre specs (from April 2021):
- up to 300 miles (483 km) of range in an undisclosed test cycle
- modular battery system up to 750 kWh
- system output of 645 hp (about 480 kW)
- DC fast charging au up to 350 kW
Nikola Tre 4×2 specs (from February 2020):
- up to 400 km (249 miles) of range in an undisclosed test cycle
- up to 720 kWh modular battery system
- system output of 480 kW continuous power output and 1,800 Nm peak torque
- will also be available in 2- and 3-axle rigid versions
- GVW ranging from 18 to 26 tonnes for urban distribution and municipality missions
