Hydrogen-powered Nikola Badger pickup canceled amid company issues
The proposed pickup is dead before arrival
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}We’ll always have the drawings.
Startup automaker Nikola has canceled plans to sell a hydrogen-powered pickup called the Badger after a deal to have General Motors manufacture the truck fell through.
The proposed pickup was initially presented as an original design before Nikola announced a tentative agreement in September to have GM build it on the same platform that will be used for next year’s GMC HUMMER EV. The Badger was slated to be powered by a combination of GM’s Hydrotec hydrogen fuel-cell and Ultium battery drivetrains and was advertised as offering up to 906 hp and a 600-mile range at a price between $60,000 and $90,000.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The deal with GM, which included the development of Hydrotec-powered semi-trucks, came under scrutiny just days later after a short-seller accused Nikola of misleading investors. It was replaced on Monday with a scaled-down agreement focused only on the semi and Nikola’s promise to refund all of the $5,000 deposits it had received for securing Badger reservations, which amounted to less than $10 million, according to the company’s latest earnings report.
GMC has sold out the first year of production of the $112,595 HUMMER EV pickup, which is set to enter production late next year and will be followed by lower-priced models and SUV versions.
Nikola did not say if it plans to revive the Badger with another manufacturer.
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