In June, Daimler Trucks presented two new fully electric trucks from its US-subsidiary Freightliner. Now, Daimler announced the two first customers to operate the e-vehicles within their fleet: a total of 30 Freightliner eCascadia and eM2 trucks will be handed over to Penske Truck Leasing and NFI Industries in the US.
- Penske Truck Leasing Corporation is a leading global transportation services provider operating more than 270.000 vehicles and serving customers from more than 1.000 locations in North America, South America, Europe, Australia and Asia. Penske will get ten Freightliner eCascadia heavy-duty trucks for regional delivery and ten medium-duty eM2 for local operations in the Northwest Pacific and in California.
- Logistics specialist NFI Industries holds a fleet of 4,000 tractors and approximately 8,900 trailers in North America. Ten Freightliner eCascadias will be delivered to NFI for drayage activities from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to warehouses in California’s Inland Empire metro region.
Daimler is the first manufacturer to test electrified trucks for all weight classes with customers until end of 2018. Furthermore, Daimler Trucks, as a comprehensive system provider, is working with the customers on route planning, development of charging infrastructure and vehicle service support.
In addition, the newly founded E-Mobility Group will use ten Freightliner e-trucks for research and development purposes to gain further knowledge about e-trucks in the US. DTNA has a goal of starting series production of the electrified trucks in 2021.
Aaron is an automotive journalist living in Wyoming, USA. His background includes technology, mechanics, commercial vehicles, and new vehicle evaluations. Aaron is a member of several automotive media groups and writes for many well-known publications.