2017 Nikola One Introduction and pricing
Nikola is an entirely new company based in Salt Lake City in the US. The company started back in May this year when they also announced their new product, the 2017 Nikola One. This is set to be the first zero-emission truck to be made. So far Nikola only showcased a set of renders and their plan. While the Nikola One is an electric truck, it won’t be used as a plug-in vehicle but more on that later. The first actual prototype is going to be showcased on the 2nd of December this year. The price of the truck is going to be $375,000.
The concept
While this is roughly two times as much as a regular diesel-powered truck, the Nikola one will come with quite a few more benefits. For starters, it seems that their first 5,000 customers will benefit from 100,000 free gallons of CNG. This should allow them a range between 800,000 and 1,200,000 miles. With the added benefit of having free fuel, it means that the Nikola would actually become quite a bit cheaper than a regular diesel truck which costs more than $500,000 in fuel and service repairs, both offered for free on the Nikola. So far they managed to take more than 7,000 pre-orders, $1,500, each being refundable. They said that they sold more than $2.3 billion worth of trucks so far but they actually cashed in only around $10,5 million which is still substantial considering so far they only have the basic concept of the truck.
Engine
A conventional truck uses a large diesel engine offering between 400 and 600 horsepower and around 1,700 lb-ft of torque. The 2017 Nikola One offers six individual electric motors which can offer a combined output of 2,000 horsepower and 3,700 lb-ft of torque. This should allow the new high-efficiency truck to tow a load of around 80,000 pounds at speed while being able to get between 8 to 12 MPG of CNG which is still very good. Unlike Tesla which has all electric cars, the Nikola will use a 400 kW turbine which will recharge a 320 kWh battery pack. In all-electric mode, it seems that the truck will be able to go between 100 and 350 miles depending on the load it will tow which will allow it to drive through certain areas, in certain countries, without paying road taxes. Having six individual electric motors, the truck will also feature torque vectoring, so it should be able to maintain its average speed easier.
This will also translate into better fuel efficiency and faster delivery times. Also, thanks to the fact it will use CNG to make electricity, it will have really low refueling times which will allow for lower downtimes. Also, thanks to the fact the actual turbine will be able to run on different fuels, we might see different versions for different markets.
The design: inside and out
So far the 2017 Nikola One renders look quite futuristic but it still is unclear on how the actual production truck is going to look like. We can expect the production model to feature a similar shape which will aid it in fuel efficiency thanks to its aerodynamic design. The cabin of the render, on the other hand, doesn’t look as good as the exterior. We are pretty sure that it is just a placeholder until the concept will be revealed in December. Until then, Nikola did say that the truck will use a 15-inch touch-screen which will be its control center. On top of that, it looks like the instrument cluster and even the additional gauges will all be displayed on LCD screens which may allow the driver to customize its experience.
