NIKOLA TO BE FIRST U.S. TRUCK MANUFACTURER TO ADD PLUSDRIVE NEXT GENERATION SAFETY SYSTEM TO CLASS 8 ELECTRIC TRUCKS
Nikola Corporation (NASDAQ: NKLA) announced the integration of PlusDrive, an advanced safety system, into its Nikola Tre battery-electric and hydrogen electric vehicles. Set to launch by late 2024, these vehicles will feature enhanced driver assistance technologies designed for improved safety and efficiency. PGT Trucking and Christenson Transportation are among the fleets selected to pilot these vehicles. PlusDrive includes advanced incident detection and optimizes driving through predictive speed adjustments, enhancing the overall driver experience. This initiative supports Nikola's commitment to zero-emission transportation and aims to elevate industry safety standards.
- Integration of PlusDrive enhances driver safety and efficiency.
- First factory-installed Nikola Tre vehicles with PlusDrive expected by late 2024.
- Strong fleet interest with PGT Trucking and Christenson Transportation as pilot partners.
- Continuous over-the-air updates will improve vehicle features without downtime.
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PlusDrive-enabled
"The enhanced driver assistance features are yet another differentiator of Nikola's premium driver experience for our customers," said
Designed for drivers by drivers, PlusDrive offers unmatched safety, fuel efficiency, and driver comfort features. PlusDrive elevates the role of the professional driver to a pilot who supervises the system to drive on the highway. Its capabilities go far beyond basic driver assistance capabilities such as lane keeping and automatic emergency brakes. PlusDrive also handles everything from staying centered in the lane, lane changes, merges, stop-and-go traffic, and nudging, while the driver remains alert and attentive. New driving features are continuously added over-the-air without any additional truck downtime.
Together with Nikola's base technology, PlusDrive will moderate and predict the optimal and safest speed, while also taking full advantage of regenerative braking in traffic and slowing conditions. The vehicle is expected to keep the best position within the lane and account for other large vehicles and emergency vehicles.
With PlusDrive, the Nikola Tre BEVs and hydrogen electric vehicles will come with best-in-class incident detection capabilities via the multiple cameras to be used together with short-range radar, and LiDAR. The advanced sensor suite will assist the driver to safely interact with other drivers and provide additional protection for liability mitigation.
When not in use on the highway, the Nikola Tre BEV and hydrogen electric vehicles will maintain the ability to detect obstacles and traffic in the blind spots. Other traffic, including motorcycles and pedestrians, will continue to be highlighted to provide drivers with their proximity information. The system will work in all traffic conditions, including loading docks. Pedestrian safety around the trucks is especially important as much quieter zero-emissions vehicles become a mainstay. The system will highlight pedestrians around the vehicle to help ensure safety of typical operations including loading and unloading, inspections, and charging and fueling. Safe operation during high-power charging and hydrogen fueling will also be supplemented with detection and recording features.
"We are proud to support a zero-emission future and provide the underlying safety system behind Nikola's enhanced driver assistance features. The proven commercial readiness of our highly automated solution PlusDrive accelerates the deployment for our partners and sets a new bar for safety and sustainability for the trucking industry," said
Multiple fleets including
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Nikola will be demonstrating the PlusDrive-powered Nikola Tre BEV during ride alongs at the
ABOUT NIKOLA CORPORATION:
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
Certain statements included in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements generally are accompanied by words such as "believe," "may," "will," "estimate," "continue," "anticipate," "intend," "expect," "should," "would," "plan," "predict," "potential," "seem," "seek," "future," "outlook," and similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the anticipated benefits of the planned collaboration between Nikola and Plus; the potential benfits of the PlusDrive system; the benefits of Nikola's vehicle technology; the ability of the PlusDrive system to deliver all of its anticipated features and the planned benefits from those features. These statements are based on various assumptions, whether or not identified in this press release, and on the current expectations of Nikola's management. We cannot assure you that forward-looking statements will be achieved and forward-looking statements are not predictions of actual performance. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements, including but not limited to, the failure to realize the anticipated benefits of the announced collaboration between Nikola and Plus; design and manufacturing changes, challenges and delays; economic, financial, legal, supply chain, regulatory, political and business conditions and changes in domestic and foreign markets; the potential challenges arising from COVID-19; the outcome of legal, regulatory and judicial proceedings to which Nikola is, or may become a party; demand for and customer acceptance of Nikola's trucks; risks associated with development and testing of fuel cell power modules and hydrogen storage systems; risks related to the rollout of Nikola's business and the timing of expected business milestones, including delivery of trucks for sale; the effects of competition on Nikola's future business; the availability of capital to fund Nikola's business; risks associated with changes in accounting treatment or accounting standards; and the other risks detailed from time to time in Nikola's reports filed with the
ABOUT PLUS
Plus is a global provider of highly automated driving and fully autonomous driving solutions. Named by
For more information, please visit www.plus.ai or follow us on LinkedIn or YouTube.
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FAQ
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