Freightliner Trucks premiered two fully electrified commercial vehicles, a Freightliner eCascadia heavy duty truck and a Freightliner eM2 106 medium duty truck. Freightliner plans to deliver 30 vehicles to customers later this year for further testing under real-world operating conditions, with a goal to start production in 2021.
Both electrified Freightliner models are designed to fit specific applications, identified through a co-creation process with customers.
“The Freightliner eCascadia and eM2 are designed to meet customer needs for electrified commercial vehicles serving dedicated, predictable routes where the vast majority of daily runs fall between 45 and 150 miles,” said Roger Nielsen, president and chief executive officer of DTNA. “These innovative trucks reflect DTNA’s commitment to bring practical, game-changing technology to market. The eCascadia, utilizing North America’s bestselling Class 8 platform, and eM2 106, based on one of the most in-demand medium duty truck designs, are built on validated, series production trucks in extensive use by our customers every day.”
The eCascadia has up to 730 peak horsepower. The batteries provide 550 Kwh usable capacity, a range of up to 250 miles and have the ability to charge up to 80 percent (providing a range of 200 miles) in about 90 minutes. The Class 8 tractor is designed for local and regional distribution and drayage. The eM2 has up to 480 peak horsepower. The batteries provide 325 Kwh of usable capacity, a range of up to 230 miles and have the ability to charge up to 80 percent (providing a range of 184 miles) in about 60 minutes. The eM2 is Freightliner’s electrified solution for local distribution, pickup and delivery, food and beverage delivery, and last-mile logistics applications.
“Our primary goal at DTNA is bringing vehicles to market that are safe, reliable and efficient," Nielsen said. "Heavy duty electric vehicles present the greatest engineering challenges, but they also are the best learning laboratories. We have decades of experience in successfully producing durable commercial vehicles in high volumes that stand up to the demands our customers place on them. We now bring this unmatched experience and expertise to the electric truck category.”
The Freightliner eCascadia with 80,000 lb. gross combined weight rating (GCWR) and eM2 with 26,000 lb. GCWR are part of Daimler Trucks’ global electrified truck initiative.
Daimler Trucks commercial electric vehicles already entering the market include:
- Thomas Built Buses Saf-T-Liner C2 electric school bus, Jouley, with a range of up to 100 miles that starts limited production in 2019.
- More than 100 electric vehicles built by Freightliner Custom Chassis Corp. in 2012 with supplier Electric Vehicles International (EVI) on the MT-55 walk-in van chassis are still on the roads today.
- The FUSO eCanter, a fully electric Class 4 light duty truck in series production with electric urban delivery vehicles being delivered to various customers in North America, Asia and Europe.
- The fully electric Mercedes-Benz Citaro is based on the global bestseller Mercedes-Benz Citaro, going into series production in late 2018.
- The Mercedes-Benz eActros is a fully electrified heavy duty distribution truck starting operations with the first customers in the second half of 2018.
“DTNA is striving to develop electric commercial vehicles that reduce emissions and enhance our customers’ bottom lines through improved uptime and lower operating costs,” said Richard Howard, senior vice president, sales and marketing, Freightliner Trucks.
Daimler AG, DTNA’s parent company, is also a founding member of CharIN, the Charging Interface Initiative – an effort to develop a standard charging system for battery-powered vehicles. DTNA is heading a CharIN taskforce to develop a new electric commercial vehicle charging standard globally, collaborating with utilities and service providers to foster a supportive environment for high-voltage charging networks and serve as a trusted consultant for customers.
