- Nikola’s CEO says that the Badger electric truck is expected enter production in 2022.
- The startup will also announce which automaker it’ll partner with to build the Badger in the coming months.
- The Badger will enter a crowded field of electric trucks from established automakers like GM and startups like Rivian.
After announcing via Twitter that the Nikola Badger electric truck would be available for preorder on June 29, CEO and founder Trevor Milton has told Reuters that the pickup would enter production in 2022 or earlier. The company is also expected to begin building its hydrogen fuel-cell semis in the second half of next year.
Nikola doesn’t plan to go it alone with the Badger. It announced early on that it would be partnering with an established automaker to build the electric pickup. “There are three in the running right now for a joint venture on Badger, and we will announce who that is in the next few months,” Milton told Reuters.
Based on Milton’s timeline, it’s likely that we’ll learn about the partner at Nikola World which was expected to happen in September of this year. Details of the annual event will be shared on June 29. As a bonus for those that pre-order the Badger, they will get first dibs on tickets to the event.
The Badger itself will be available as either a pure battery-electric or a battery-electric/fuel-cell hybrid. The electric version will have a claimed with 300 miles of range, while the fuel-cell version will up that number to a claimed 600 miles. It’ll enter the crowded electric-truck market with offerings from established automakers and startups expected to be on the road in the next few years.
Milton also noted that its fuel-cell semis are in the prototype phase and should begin production in 2021. Those initial big rigs will be be built in Ulm, Germany with partner CNH Industrial, which builds Iveco trucks.