The Customer Experience (CX) fleet from Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) consists of six heavy-duty Freightliner eCascadia and two medium-duty Freightliner eM2 106. Over a period of 22 months 14 different customers from a range of sectors will operate the all-electric trucks within their daily transport business. These customers are some of the largest fleet owners in the USA representing more than 150.000 heavy and medium-duty trucks (Class 6-8) on US roads. The CX test fleet complements the innovation fleet of 30 Freightliner eTrucks which, since 2018, have been in operation and recently surpassed more than 160.000 cumulative kilometers. The market launch for both the Freightliner eCascadia and the eM2 truck is scheduled for late 2021.
The Freightliner eCascadia is based on the Cascadia, the most successful heavy-duty long-distance truck (class 8, 80,000 lb. gross combined weight rating (GCWR) in the North American market. At start of series production, the eCascadia is planned to have up to 730 peak horsepower. The batteries are planned to provide 550 Kwh usable capacity, a range of up to 250 miles and have the ability to charge up to 80 percent (providing a range of 200 miles) in about 90 minutes. The Class 8 tractor is designed for local and regional distribution and drayage. The Freightliner eM2 is intended for local distribution operations and last-mile delivery services (class 6, 26,000 lb. GCWR).The eM2 truck is planned to have up to 480 peak horsepower. The batteries are planned to provide 325 Kwh of usable capacity, a range of up to 230 miles and have the ability to charge up to 80 percent (providing a range of 184 miles) in about 60 minutes.
The Freightliner eCascadia and eM2 are part of Daimler Trucks’ global electrified truck initiative, joining Thomas Built Buses all-electric Saf-T-Liner eC2 Jouley school bus, the Freightliner Custom Chassis Corporation MT50e, the Mercedes-Benz eActros, the Mercedes-Benz eEconic, the Mercedes-Benz eCitaro bus in Europe and the FUSO eCanter in Asia, Europe and North America.