Drivers of Nikola electric trucks will soon be able to experience highly automated driving.
Nikola Corporation, the pioneering manufacturer of hydrogen electric vehicles, announced this week that it has selected PlusDrive to be offered on Nikola Tre vehicles coming to market in 2024. PlusDrive, developed by automated truck developer Plus, is designed to enhance safety, fuel efficiency, and driver comfort. It will be available on Nikola’s battery-electric and hydrogen electric vehicles sold in the U.S.
Going Beyond Basic Driver Assistance
As described in the press release, “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.”
The first factory-installed Nikola Tre BEVs and hydrogen electric vehicles that will incorporate PlusDrive will be available by the end of 2024, Nikola said. “The enhanced driver assistance features are yet another differentiator of Nikola’s premium driver experience for our customers,” said Michael Lohscheller, President and CEO, Nikola Corporation. “We are one of the first OEMs to offer 100% electric steering paired with the ZF EBS braking system. This base technology in all our vehicles, combined with Nikola’s own internally developed vehicle controls, over-the-air updates and vehicle security can enable the integration of these advanced sensors and the realization of the PlusDrive safety system from Plus.”
PlusDrive is taking on new responsibilities specific to the electric powertrain. The announcement states that “PlusDrive will moderate and predict the optimal and safest speed, while also taking full advantage of regenerative braking in traffic and slowing conditions. Also, the vehicle is expected to keep the best position within the lane and account for other large vehicles and emergency vehicles.”
Similar to other truck automated driving systems, PlusDrive employs multiple cameras, radar, and LiDAR. Nikola sees this advanced sensor suite as assisting the driver to safely interact with other drivers, thereby providing additional protection for liability mitigation.
Based on my experience of PlusDrive as a passenger in the truck cab during a demo ride, the system can handle all routine driving tasks on a typical interstate highway. The driver role is to supervise the vehicle performance and take over as needed (or as requested) when the situation calls for it. Information on the Plus website notes that driver monitoring is employed to ensure the driver remains alert to the task at hand.
PlusDrive Beyond The Highway
An intriguing new capability of PlusDrive was revealed in the announcement. “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.”
To leverage the highway-focused sensor suite to support street and yard operations, where trucks have an inordinate amount of incidents, is a notable step.
“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 David Liu, CEO and Co-Founder, at Plus.
“Overwhelming Fleet Interest”
Nikola says that multiple fleets including PGT Trucking and Christenson Transportation have agreed to pilot the initial Nikola PlusDrive-enabled trucks which will be available to them in late 2023. Nikola is establishing an Enhanced Driver Assistance Customer Council to collaborate with fleets and Plus to continue refining the system, citing “the overwhelming fleet interest in the system.”
“PGT Trucking is committed to advancing the transportation industry through the Future of Flatbed®, strategically partnering with like-minded companies, like Nikola, to implement innovative technology and equipment into our fleet,” said Gregg Troian, PGT Trucking President. “We will actively participate in the ongoing development of the Nikola PlusDrive-enabled units, using these trucks in real-world applications, improving safety standards and enhancing the lifestyle for our drivers.”
“Christenson Transportation has and continues to invest in the safest technology available on the market to lower our carbon emissions to meet the goals of our customers and the communities we serve,” said Don Christenson, Christenson Transportation President. “The Nikola PlusDrive-enabled trucks, along with the current Nikola Tre BEV and hydrogen electric vehicle, will play a significant role in helping us achieve this vision and improve work-life balance for our drivers. We are proud to be one of the first customers to pilot these trucks this year and play an active role in the launch of this innovative technology.”
Both PGT Trucking and Christenson Transportation have been active in trials of automated driving, signing deals with Locomation in 2021 and 2022, respectively.
Partnerships Beget Partnerships
Nikola was founded in 2014. Early on, the company partnered with Italian truck OEM IVECO to supply the base truck for the Nikola product. Meanwhile, Plus partnered with Iveco in 2021 “to develop autonomous trucks for global deployment.” Earlier this month, Iveco and Plus announced they are starting public road testing of PlusDrive in Germany. While no specific statements have been made, my hunch is that the Iveco-Plus partnership created useful openings for the Nikola-Plus partnership.
Nikola In Investor Crosshairs
Investors were disappointed by Nikola’s 4Q 2022 results reported today. Nikola only delivered 22 trucks to dealers, much less than predicted earlier in the year, such that revenue fell significantly short of Wall Street’s expectations. Nikola stock dropped precipitously for the day.
Forward looking statements are bullish, however. The company says it plans to introduce its hydrogen-powered truck in 2023, delivering up to 150 units by the end of the year. Nikola has previously said it has orders for about 1,000 of its hydrogen trucks, with 800 of them going to beer brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev NV. The company is assembling a hydrogen fuel network in the U.S. and Canada to support 7,500 trucks in 2026.
Wrap Up
Next week, Nikola will be demonstrating the PlusDrive-powered Nikola Tre BEV with ride-alongs at the ATA Technology and Maintenance Council Annual Meeting and Transportation Technology Exhibition in Orlando. I’ll be there as well, hoping to pick up on hallway chatter regarding this new OEM product offering.
Plus is the only automated trucking company with customers operating a released product on the road today. No doubt they are overjoyed to see the validation of having an OEM equip their vehicles with PlusDrive in the factory. What about partnering with other truck OEMs? A Plus spokesperson told me that “Plus is looking to enable OEMs and Tier 1s around the world to integrate PlusDrive into their trucks and products. We have announced a few of these partners already, Nikola being the latest, and have others that we hope to be able to disclose in the coming months.”
All automated trucking developers aim at offering products in which no human driver is required to operate the vehicle. Plus characterizes PlusDrive as a stepping-stone product which also benefits their fully automated driving development program. While it would not be a big leap for other developers to develop a similar product, Plus is the only company offering this type of product. At least, so far.
Nikola has not indicated publicly that they will be building their own fully automated vehicle capability from scratch. If this is the case, I assume that they will turn to the truck automation supplier community plus traditional Tier 1 suppliers getting into this game, such as ZF. With the PlusDrive deal, Plus appears to have a foot in the door for consideration in providing a future driverless package as well.
Note: I am an Advisor to Plus.
