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A pair of Nikola Tre battery-powered Class 8 trucks caught fire in two separate locations in the United States last week. The latest incident was reported by the company on Friday at its headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona, while another was ablaze in Tempe, Arizona, earlier last week.
This brings the total number of fires involving Tre BEV trucks to four, following the one in June that reportedly involved several units at the startup's Phoenix headquarters and the so-called "thermal incident" that involved an engineering validation unit parked at the company's Coolidge, Arizona, facility.
No one was injured in those last two fires, Nikola said, adding that Friday's fire occurred on a pre-production truck that was undergoing battery fire investigation and testing. The company said in a statement:
“On Friday, September 8 at approximately 8:30 am, there was a thermal incident with one engineering validation battery-electric truck near Nikola’s Phoenix headquarters. No one was injured. This pre-production truck was outside and undergoing battery fire investigation and testing. We thank the Phoenix first responders for their quick action. We will share more information as we learn more.”
Last month, the zero-emissions truck startup, which also makes a hydrogen-powered truck based on an Iveco chassis, announced a recall for all 209 Tre BEV rigs that had reached dealers and customers after an independent investigator looking into the June fire released its preliminary findings, saying a coolant leak in a single battery pack was the likely cause of the fire.
Simultaneously with the recall, Nikola Motor temporarily suspended sales of its battery-powered truck until a resolution was reached but said that vehicles that are already on the road can still be used, with two recommendations for both customers and dealers:
- Place the Main Battery Disconnect (MBD) switch into the “ON” position at all times to enable real-time vehicle monitoring and safety systems operation;
- Consider parking trucks outside to allow for over-the-air updates and better connectivity with Fleet Command, Nikola’s truck monitoring system.
After announcing the recall, Nikola Motor said its software systems are used to monitor trucks in the field in real time, with a total of more than 3,100 battery packs under the supervision of the company's operators.
