Freightliner’s Innovation Fleet Of eCascadia & eM2 Battery-Electric Trucks Has Covered 300,000 Miles In Southern California

---

Freightliner’s Southern California-based Innovation Fleet, which consists of 20 eCascadia and 10 eM2 battery-electric trucks, recently crossed the 300,000-mile threshold of real-world testing. (eCascadias pictured above; photo courtesy of Freightliner.)

Freightliner’s Innovation Fleet, which consists of 20 eCascadias and 10 eM2s carrying out real-world operations such as local and regional distribution, food and parcel delivery, and more, has officially covered more than 300,000 miles (482,803 kilometers). The company says that figure is the equivalent of 5,660 one-way trips from ports in Los Angeles and Long Beach to warehouses in the Inland Empire of California, or 12 trips around the world. Launched in 2018, this fleet of medium- and heavy-duty battery-electric trucks is funded, in part, by the South Coast Air Quality Management District, which Freightliner says “focuses on improving air quality in the South Coast Basin of Southern California.”

A Testament To Teamwork

“Co-creation with our customers is a cornerstone of Freightliner’s unique approach to the market. The knowledge and expertise our logistics customers have in fleet operations with their thousands of trucks is invaluable as we design and engineer the zero-emissions future of the commercial vehicle,” says Richard Howard, senior vice president, on-highway sales and marketing, for Daimler Trucks North America. “Crossing the threshold of 300,000 miles of testing, then one million miles, then more—together—before we begin series production of battery-electric trucks will ensure we deliver the performance and reliability our customers count on and which has made Freightliner the undisputed leader in commercial trucks.”

Freightliner’s Electric Truck Timeline

Freightliner introduced the world to the eCascadia and eM2 in June 2018 and announced the Innovation Fleet with partners NFI and Penske Truck Leasing. The company then delivered the first eM2 to Penske in December of that year. Throughout 2019, Freightliner continued delivering eCascadias and eM2s to customers and laid the groundwork for electric vehicle assembly at its Portland, Oregon, manufacturing facility. The goal is to begin series production of eCascadias and eM2s in mid-2022 and late-2022, respectively.

Source: Freightliner