USPS, drayage carrier puts in order for Nikola hydrogen fuel cell trucks
Nikola is celebrating an order for 50 of its Nikola Tre hydrogen fuel cell electric trucks.
The company making the order, Compton, Calif.-based AJR Trucking, is a carrier for the U.S. Postal Service and a drayage carrier operating in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
Deliveries of the trucks are expected in the fourth quarter of 2023 and the first quarter of 2024, according to a Nikola news release.
Nikola Motor Co. and its Southern California dealer, Tom’s Truck Centers, have promised to support AJR Trucking in securing its voucher application to California Air Resource Board’s Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project program.
The companies expect to receive $270,000 per FCEV in point-of-sale incentives. Nikola announced it had received approval for the program in February. Another $40,000 in federal tax credits is expected from the Inflation Reduction Act.
AJR Trucking and Nikola plan to find opportunities to deploy Nikola’s 10,000 psi (700 bar) mobile fueling solution at AJR Trucking properties in Compton, Calif. and Santa Clarita, Calif., to provide convenient and seamless fueling for the fuel cell electric vehicles. AJR Trucking expects the cost of hydrogen fuel delivered by Nikola to its terminals to be competitively priced, according to the news release.
Net of the various incentives, AJR Trucking anticipates the cost for its fuel cell electric vehicle fleet to be roughly the same as the cost to operate its existing fleet of trucks in its postal service and drayage operations.
“We are confident the future of trucking is zero-emissions, and based upon our operational needs, the Nikola Tre FCEVs were the only zero tailpipe emission vehicles that could meet our range, performance, and cost targets,” Jack Khudikyan, owner of AJR Trucking, said in the news release. “We are excited to be at the forefront of the deployment of this new technology and to be able to offer our customers zero-emissions freight solutions. We look forward to working with Nikola and USPS to integrate the (fuel cell electric vehicles) into our mail hauling operations starting in Southern Calif. and envision expanding the use of these trucks throughout our operations nationwide.”
Tom’s Truck Center looks forward to working with AJR Trucking in support of the expansion of the fuel cell electric vehicle fleet and hydrogen fueling throughout California and into nationwide U.S. Postal Service operations, K.C. Heidler, Tom’s Truck Center president and CEO, said in the news release.
AJR Trucking has hauled mail for USPS for more than 30 years, and is one of the 10 largest mail haulers for USPS, according to the news release. It has a fleet of more than 500 trucks. The company pioneered some of the first compressed natural gas trucks in operation for the USPS and in 2022 placed the largest order for Class 8 battery-electric vehicles from Kenworth to date.
Phoenix-based Nikola Corp. was founded in 2014 as Nikola Motor Co., which is now the name of one of the corporate subsidiary. It designs and manufactures battery-electric and hydrogen-electric vehicles, electric vehicle drivetrains, vehicle components, energy storage systems and hydrogen fueling station infrastructure.
In January, Nikola reported an order for 100 Tre hydrogen fuel cell electric trucks from German company GP Joule, which produces and markets wind and solar power, green hydrogen and thermal energy LL
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