Daimler Trucks has showcased the fully electric Freightliner eCascadia heavy-duty truck and medium-duty Freightliner eM2 at a presentation in the US, throwing down the gauntlet to the likes of Tesla.
The world's largest commercial vehicle manufacturer presented the new Freightliner eCascadia, a heavy-duty electric truck for long-distance operations (from 15 tonnes GVW and up) in Portland, Oregon.
A fully-electric variant of the Freightliner eM2 106 covers the medium segment (9 to 12 tonnes GVW).
Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) is planning to hand over an innovation fleet of around 30 electric trucks to its first customers in the US this year.
Series production is pencilled in for the start of 2021.
In a statement, DTNA said that as “is already the case with the fully-electric Fuso eCanter light truck and the medium Mercedes-Benz eActros, it is the company's objective to gain experience in eTrucks by working together with customers to establish how electric trucks can be efficiently deployed in day-to-day transport operations”.
Martin Daum, member of the Daimler board of management for Trucks and Buses: “We are the undisputed global leader of the trucking industry and we intend to remain in that position with electric trucks.
“We were first-movers on electric trucks and strive to set the standard in each relevant segment in which we compete.
“With the formation of our new global E-Mobility Group, we will maximize the impact of our investments in this key strategic technology. Thus, we can pursue the best solutions in batteries, charging solutions and energy management.”
The Freightliner eCascadia is based on the Cascadia, Daimler’s most successful heavy-duty long-distance truck (class 8) in the North American market.
The truck has 730hp on tap and at 550 kWh, its batteries provide enough energy for a range of up to 400 km (250 miles). The batteries can be recharged to around 80% within 90 minutes to cover a further 320 km (200 miles).
The Freightliner eM2 106 is intended for local distribution operations and last-mile delivery. The batteries of the new electric version provide 325 KWh for up to 480hp. The range of the eM2 is around 370 km (230 miles). The batteries can be recharged to around 80% within 60 minutes, sufficient for a range of around 300 km (184 miles).
