US start-up Nikola Motors has shocked rivals by revealing a close-to-production prototype of the full-electric truck it will launch in 2021.
Coming just three months after announcing its partnership with IVECO, the all-new Nikola Tre is said to have been created in collaboration with the established truck-maker.
Designed, by Italdessign, specifically for the European market, orders for the Nikola Tre are claimed to alreadt far exceed production capacity, with the US truck-maker suggesting the battery-powered truck would be sold out for many years.
Another surprise of the overnight reveal was, as well as a battery version that will have a range of up to 966km, Nikola and IVECO are also readying a hydrogen fuel-cell model that will arrive a few years later in 2023.
As part of the alliance between IVECO and Nikola the Italian's truck-maker's parent company has taken a $250 million ($A365m) stake in the US start-up.
Fuelling the business case for the Nikola Tre is mandatory EU targets to reduce emissions from 2019's levels by 15 per cent in 2025 and 30 percent by 2030.
Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz and Tesla are all racing to ready their own zero-emission haulers