Nikola has introduced a strategic partnership with the RIG360 vendor community to supply gross sales and repair merchandise for business clients.

The RIG360 community consists of seven particular person dealerships (Blanchard Equipment, Cleveland Brothers, Foley Gear, MacAllister Equipment, Thompson Equipment, Thompson Tractor, and Yancey Bros. Co.), that common greater than 75 years of expertise.

The plan is to make the most of greater than 65 RIG360 vendor areas (see the map here) all through the Southeast, Midwest and Northeast areas of the USA.

In response to the press launch, these service facilities are ideally situated in key metropolitan areas and at main intersections of the interstate freeway system.

The partnership – as soon as finalized within the coming months – is anticipated to cowl each battery-electric and hydrogen gas cell automobiles.

“Along with offering service and upkeep for Nikola’s full portfolio of Class 8 vehicles, this vendor affiliation is meant to supply clients with a well known and respected gross sales and distribution channel to be established for Nikola BEV and FCEV automobiles and ancillary services and products.”

The all-electric Nikola Tre semi-truck will probably be launched later this 12 months. We already noticed the primary prototypes, produced in Germany on the IVECO plant, used for testing within the U.S.

It is an open query whether or not Nikola will actually be able to promote the vehicles by the tip of 2021. Often, new electrical vehicles are first examined over a protracted time with fleets.

The primary hydrogen gas cell semi-truck – Nikola Tre FCEV – is even additional away, as the current plan is mid-2023.

Its bigger model, Nikola Two FCEV, will comply with within the second half of 2024 – at the very least about 3.5 years from now.

In the meantime, Tesla, in addition to established producers, are getting near the market launch of their vehicles. Tesla Semi in all probability will probably be launched this 12 months, Volvo VNR Electric is just around the corner and Freightliner has simply opened orders forward of electrical truck launch in late 2022.