Nikola eclipses Ford and targets Australia as first market for Badger hydrogen ute

The Driven

Australia is to be one of the first markets for the hydrogen-powered Nikola Badger ute, with reservations to open on June 29, the company tweeted on Tuesday.

The news about the hotly anticipated electric utility truck (known as a ute in Australia and pickup in the US) followed closely on the heels of the company’s listing on the Nasdaq after a reverse merger with VectoIQ Acquisition Corp, and a surge in its market value to surpass that of legacy car makers Ford and FCA.

That achievement was loudly trumpeted on Twitter by Nikola founder and executive chair Trevor Milton and indicates the huge interest in Nikola, which seeks to disrupt the trucking industry with three hydrogen-fuelled trucks alongside the Badger electric ute.

In-day trading saw the company’s market cap eclipse $US30 billion ($A43.03 billion) on June 9, closing the day at a still healthy $US28.63 billion ($A41.06 billion), compared to Ford’s $US28.8 billion ($A41.31 billion) at market close the same day.

Founded in 2015, Nikola has to date gained most attention for its plan to introduce three hydrogen fuel cell electric (FCEVs) trucks that would compete with the Tesla Semi.

The Badger is the only utility truck to be offered by the company. With an expected production start in 2022, no pricing has been announced as yet for the Nikola Badger, which would compete against the Tesla Cybertruck, which is priced from $US39,900 in the US (no pricing for Australia has yet been announced for this either).

Milton told Techcrunch that Nikola also has the planned all-electric Ford F-150 in its sights – an even more tangible reason for being pleased about the company’s surge in value.

To read the full version of this story – and view the photo gallery – on RenewEconomy’s electric vehicle dedicated site, The Driven, click here…

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