Nikola Corporation is designing a very attractive new electric pickup truck called the Badger, to compete with the likes of Tesla’s Cybertruck, Rivian’s R1T, and General Motors new all Electric Hummer.
The company will combine hydrogen fuel cell technology with an onboard auxiliary battery pack, the company claims each power source will have a 300-mile range.
The Phoenix-based startup company began by designing fully electric or hydrogen fuel cell electric semi-trucks with long-range capabilities between 500-700 miles. Now they’ve decided to take this technology and engineer a pick-up truck.
Trevor Milton, Nikola’s founder, and CEO released a statement:
Nikola has billions of technology in our semi-truck program, so why not build it into a pickup truck? I have been working on this pickup program for years and believe the market is now ready for something that can handle a full day’s worth of work without running out of energy.
With a combined range of up to 600 miles, the Badger will offer up to 906 horsepower (HP), can go 0-60 in 2.9 seconds, offers up to 980 pounds of torque, and has a towing capacity of up to 8,000 pounds.
Milton recently spoke to Fox Business about the Badger:
We really built a truck that is gorgeous, the best-looking truck, pickup truck, in the entire world. Better looking than the new [Chevy] Silverados. The new [Ford] Raptors.
Hydrogen fuel cells are quickly becoming more popular and the technology is improving. However, currently, there are only around 400 hydrogen refueling stations in the United States. Nikola said they have plans to build a coast-to-coast network of 700 hydrogen fueling stations across the U.S. by 2028.
Badger from Nikola will not come cheap, Milton said the truck will cost between $60,000 and $90,000. Once the prototype hits roads this fall, we will get a better idea of how this new Badger will stack up against the other industry leaders in electric truck technology.
