Video: Nikola begins electric Tre series production

US-based zero emissions truck start-up Nikola has marked the beginning of commercial serial truck production of the battery electric Tre model. 

The milestone was announced with a special ceremony at its plant in Coolidge, Arizona, on April 27. 

Nikola chief executive Mark Russell says initial shipments of the trucks to customers is underway.  

Next year the company will also be looking to add fuel cell electric trucks to the mix, he adds. 

Phase 1 of the Coolidge, Arizona manufacturing facility provides Nikola with a production capacity of 2500 trucks. 

Construction of the Phase 2 assembly expansion area has begun and is expected to be completed in 2023 with a production capacity of up to 20,000-trucks annually on two shifts.

On December 17, 2021, Nikola delivered the first two Nikola Tre BEVs to TTSI. 

It also began FCEV pilot operations with Anheuser-Busch in January this year. Two Nikola Tre FCEV alphas are undergoing a pilot in daily service within the brewer’s Southern California distribution network. 

Nikola’s Ulm, Germany manufacturing facility on Iveco’s industrial complex is also complete. The facility is capable of a production capacity of 2000 trucks annually and is expandable up to 10,000 trucks per year.