Given that Nikola founder Trevor Milton was convicted of fraud last October, you could be excused for thinking his company would soon go the way of the dodo. However, that hasn’t happened.
Since his conviction, Nikola has continued the roll-out of its Tre hydrogen truck and has just announced that it has received approval from the California Air Resources Board for the Tre FCEV to be eligible for the Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project program (HVIP).
What this means is that customers of the Tre FCEV will be eligible for a point-of-sale incentive starting at $240,000 and ranging up to $288,000 per truck throughout 2023. Additionally, customers will be eligible for a $40,000 clean commercial vehicle tax credit through the U.S. government’s Inflation Reduction Act.
Class 8 heavy-duty trucks are expected to be eligible for as much as $457 million in funding through the HVIP program this year.
Read: Nikola Debuts Tre BEV And FCEV Trucks In Europe
“The inclusion of the Nikola Tre FCEV in California’s HVIP program is a very exciting development as we continue introducing innovative zero-emission truck technology options in our priority sales market and distinguish ourselves as the only OEM offering both battery-electric and FCEVs this year,” president and chief executive of Nikola, Michael Lohscheller, said in a statement. “The combined incentives available to customer fleets through the HVIP program and the Inflation Reduction Act are critical for driving a competitive total cost of ownership and accelerating market adoption of the Tre FCEV, which will be powered by the hydrogen fuel supply and infrastructure implemented through HYLA, Nikola’s recently launched hydrogen energy brand, and with service provided by our national dealer network. We look forward to delivering the Nikola Tre FCEVs to customers later this year.”
While the Nikola Tre BEV has been on the market since early 2022, the company is still gearing up for the launch of the Tre FCEV. It will collaborate on commercial demonstrations with potential fleet customers in California and says that when the truck does hit the road, it will have a range of up to 500 miles and take just 20 minutes to refuel at planned HYLA fueling stations.
