IVECO, FPT Industrial and Nikola announced the establishment of the joint venture in Turin, Italy on December 3, 2019, and announced the scope and plan of the cooperation agreement. The agreement aims to use fuel cell technology to accelerate the emission neutralization of Class 8 heavy trucks in the North American and European markets and promote industrial transformation.
The agreement comes three months after CNH Industrial announced on September 3 this year a strategic partnership with Nikola, which includes the Iveco Commercial Vehicles brand and its powertrain division, FPT Industrial.
The agreement focuses on leveraging the partners’ expertise to deploy zero-emission heavy-duty trucks and disrupt the industry through entirely new business models.
The cooperation agreement includes the establishment of a European joint venture to develop and sell hydrogen fuel cell and battery electric trucks for the European market. Nikola is responsible for delivering industry-leading fuel cell expertise and advanced technology, along with its disruptive business model that promises industry-first all-inclusive lease rates. IVECO and FPT Industrial will provide the engineering design and manufacturing expertise to industrialize fuel cell and battery electric trucks.
IVECO, FPT Industrial and Nikola have started the development of the joint venture’s first truck: the battery-electric Nikola TRE, based on the Iveco S-WAY tractor platform and integrating Nikola’s technology, controls and infotainment systems. Official testing of the truck is expected to begin in mid-2020, with a public debut planned for next September at the IAA commercial vehicle show in Hannover, Germany. IVECO’s dealer network across Europe will provide sales and after-sales support for Nikola TRE.
The partnership agreement was officially announced at an event in Turin hosted by Hubertus M. Mühlhauser, CEO of CNH Industrial, Gerrit Marx, President of Commercial and Specialty Vehicles, CNH Industrial, Annalisa Stupenengo, President of Industrial Group Powertrain, Trevor Milton, CEO of Nikola Corporation, and Mark Russell, President of Nikola Corporation participated.
Hubertus M. Mühlhauser, CEO of CNH Industrial, emphasized: “Increasing awareness of the need to fundamentally reduce vehicle emissions is driving our industry to accelerate the search for advanced technological solutions. We and Nikola The establishment of a joint venture demonstrates the technical expertise of both parties, which will bring tangible environmental benefits to long-haul trucking in Europe.”
Gerrit Marx, President, Commercial and Specialty Vehicles, CNH Industrial, added: “Our industry is changing rapidly, driven by increasingly stringent emissions regulations, and young people need to build a circular economy to protect their future environment. Hydrogen and Fuel cells (depending on the mission) are the only viable green solution and enable countries to move away from fossil fuels. Now is the time to act on zero-emission solutions that rely on fuel cell electric technology. We This technology has been carefully considered and the transformation of the transport sector has been aggressively embarked on in order to be fully prepared for the coming technological disruption.”
Trevor Milton, CEO of Nikola, concluded: “This cooperation is a win-win for all three companies. Since the day we launched Nikola ONE in 2016, truck drivers and government officials have been calling on us to push Nikola to the next level.” The European market. The Nikola TRE is beautiful and very innovative, unlike any other truck in the world. We need to choose the right partner to help us enter the European market, and CNH Industrial is definitely the ideal business partner for us. Today, while other OEMs are laying off large numbers of workers, Nikola is creating thousands of jobs, driving change and driving zero emissions in the trucking industry. Take a look at what we’ve accomplished over the past three months, Now that CNH Industrial is our partner, imagine what we will achieve in three years.”
“3 2 1 0” – Unlock a new stage: Meet the future with zero emissions
The theme of this release event is “3 2 1 0”. These numbers sum up the characteristics of the joint venture well: “3” represents the first innovative product of the joint venture, Nikola TRE (3); companies, Nikola and CNH Industrial Group jointly established “1” joint ventures to achieve the ultimate goal of “0” emissions. Partner parties met with a zero-emissions future at the event and provided guests with access codes to unlock the venue, where they will find zero-emissions trucks to the future.
The conference was held at Officine Grandi Riparazioni (OGR), a well-known industrial venue in Turin, and was co-organized by Filmmaster Events. At the end of the press conference, a new generation of zero-emission trucks made a stunning appearance, and a large device equipped with chrome-plated prism automatic doors opened automatically, presenting the Nikola TRE prototype to the guests.
