Photo: Nikola
Electric vehicles are here, there’s no doubt about that, but we’ll only be able to say they’re here to stay once fleet orders start coming in. And we’re not talking about small fleets serving bank branches, but huge ones, counting in the thousands and meant to provide some type of service to the community.
To date, the largest fleet orders of electric vehicles involve Waymo’s announced intention to buy 20,000 I-Pace SUVs, Amazon’s desire to purchase 100,000 electric vans from Rivian, and now, Republic Services’ bid at getting its hands on 2,500 Nikola electric refuse trucks.
The first two deals were announced in 2018 and 2019, respectively, and since have sunk into a cone of shadow, so we have no idea when or if they’ll eventually go through. Republic’s order is fresh out of the box, having been announced by Nikola this week.
Republic Services is America’s second largest provider of recycling and solid waste collection. Its work involves a lot of trucks going around cities gathering trash, so it’s only natural for the company to look at ways of saving in fuel cost.
According to Nikola, the company placed an order for 2,500 electric trucks of the Refuse variety (the number could be doubled if all goes well), making it the “largest single order in the waste industry.”
The carmaker says testing of the trucks would begin on the road in early 2022, and production should kick off shortly after, with deliveries expected in 2023. No specs for the trucks are provided, except for the fact they should attain a range of 150 miles (241 km) and should developed a software-capped peak power of 1,000 hp.
“This is a game changer,” said in a statement Nikola CEO, Mark Russell. “Refuse truck customers have always ordered chassis from truck OEMs and bodies from other suppliers. Nikola has fully integrated the chassis and body, covering both with a single factory warranty. Trucks will include both automated side loaders and front-end loaders — all of which will be zero-emission.”
The first two deals were announced in 2018 and 2019, respectively, and since have sunk into a cone of shadow, so we have no idea when or if they’ll eventually go through. Republic’s order is fresh out of the box, having been announced by Nikola this week.
Republic Services is America’s second largest provider of recycling and solid waste collection. Its work involves a lot of trucks going around cities gathering trash, so it’s only natural for the company to look at ways of saving in fuel cost.
According to Nikola, the company placed an order for 2,500 electric trucks of the Refuse variety (the number could be doubled if all goes well), making it the “largest single order in the waste industry.”
The carmaker says testing of the trucks would begin on the road in early 2022, and production should kick off shortly after, with deliveries expected in 2023. No specs for the trucks are provided, except for the fact they should attain a range of 150 miles (241 km) and should developed a software-capped peak power of 1,000 hp.
“This is a game changer,” said in a statement Nikola CEO, Mark Russell. “Refuse truck customers have always ordered chassis from truck OEMs and bodies from other suppliers. Nikola has fully integrated the chassis and body, covering both with a single factory warranty. Trucks will include both automated side loaders and front-end loaders — all of which will be zero-emission.”
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