PORTLAND, Ore. — Freightliner’s 38-vehicle fleet of battery-electric eCascadias and eMs2 has passed the 500,000 mile mark in real-world use by private and for-hire customers.
The Freightliner Electric Innovation Fleet and Customer Experience (CX) Fleet consist of pre-series-production battery-electric medium- and heavy-duty trucks. The program is used to test integration of battery-electric technology into large-scale fleet operations while providing real-time feedback and data to help shape the future of CO2-neutral transportation.
“The more miles our trucks operate in real-world operations, the more knowledge we gain, and the more experience our customers have with our pre-production trucks is integral to Freightliner’s approach to electrifying the trucking market,” said Richard Howard, senior vice president of on-highway sales and marketing for Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA).
“There are no shortcuts to delivering safe, reliable, dependable trucks. Real customers, running real freight against the rigors of multiple scenarios is the only path to an electric future,” he said. “Through our process of co-creation, and along with our fantastic customers, Freightliner is delivering the future, mile by mile, every day.”
The Freightliner Electric Innovation Fleet, which began operation in 2019, includes 30 battery-electric trucks in operation by NFI and Penske Truck Leasing and its customers. The fleet is supported by the South Coast Air Quality Management District (South Coast AQMD), which focuses on improving air quality in the South Coast Basin of Southern California and partially funded the project. All trucks in the fleet operate in the South Coast Basin and are doing real work in applications such as port drayage, regional and local delivery, food distribution and parcel delivery.
The Freightliner CX Fleet, launched this year, includes eight battery-electric trucks and brings more customers into the co-creation process. Freightliner CX Fleet participants are members of the Freightliner Electric Vehicle Council, a group of customers working with Freightliner to identify and address all potential hurdles to large-scale fleet deployment. The Freightliner CX Fleet is supported in part by both South Coast AQMD and by Bay Area Air Quality Management District (Bay Area AQMD), which focuses on improving air quality in the nine-county Bay Area.
Customer participants in the Freightliner CX Fleet include J.B. Hunt Transport Service Inc., Knight-Swift Transportation, Ryder Systems, Schneider National Inc., Sysco Corp. and Velocity Truck Rental and Leasing.
Freightliner’s electric vehicles include the eCascadia, a Class 8 tractor designed for local and regional distribution and drayage, and the eM2, a Class 6/7 truck designed for local distribution, pickup and delivery, food and beverage delivery, and last-mile logistics applications. The start of series production for both trucks begins in 2022.
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