DTNA Introduces Freightliner eCascadia & eM2 106 Customer Experience Fleet

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The new Freightliner Customer Experience Fleet consists of six heavy-duty eCascadia and two medium-duty eM2 106 all-electric trucks. (Photo courtesy of Daimler Trucks North America.)

Daimler Trucks North America recently created a new Freightliner Customer Experience (CX) Fleet, which consists of six eCascadias and two eM2 106 battery-electric trucks. As with the company’s other electric vehicle projects, the CX Fleet will engage in real-world commercial testing. DTNA says “at least 14 different customers who collectively represent more than 150,000 of all Class 6-8 trucks currently on the road in the U.S. will help test the new Freightliner CX Fleet.”

Electric Vehicle Council

Each of the customers involved in this project are part of Freightliner’s Electric Vehicle Council, a group that aims to “identify and address all potential hurdles of large-scale deployment of commercial battery-electric vehicles,” DTNA explains. Data gathered from the CX Fleet will directly inform the development of Freightliner’s electric vehicles and aid in the transition away from primarily diesel-powered trucks.

Over the next 22 months, DTNA will collect and analyze data and feedback from the CX Fleet to continue to improve upon future vehicle design and assist customers navigating a transition to electric fleets. “It’s critical that we collaborate with customers across multiple segments to further our understanding of how commercial battery-electric trucks will be part of a long-term solution in CO2-neutral transportation,” says Richard Howard, senior vice president, On-Highway Sales and Marketing for DTNA. “Our customers provide important, continuous feedback that contributes to our ongoing design and purposeful innovation of these trucks and together we will lead the future.”

Another Important Step

The new CX Fleet represents an important next step for electric vehicles and are just the latest step from Daimler, which has been busy introducing a range of such vehicles in the United States and elsewhere. Daimler brands Freightliner Custom Chassis Corporation, Mitsubishi FUSO, and Thomas Built Buses all have electric vehicles operating in North America. Mitsubishi FUSO eCanter trucks, for example, are currently in operation in North America, Europe, and Japan. Mercedes-Benz is also testing its eActros, eEconic, and eCitaro in Europe.

Source: Daimler Trucks North America