Freightliner delivers first battery-powered Cascadias

Freightliner’s eCascadia

First deliveries of the battery-powered eCascadia are underway, Daimler Trucks North America announced Monday.

Freightliner’s first two Class 8 battery-electric trucks were built for Penske Truck Leasing of Reading, Penn., and NFI of Camden, N.J. The fleets will be part of Freightliner’s Electric Innovation Fleet, meant to test the integration of battery-electric trucks. The eCascadias are headed for the Southern California operations of both companies and will arrive later this month. Additional deliveries of the Freightliner Electric Innovation Fleet will continue through the rest of the year.

Feedback from real-world use of the Innovation Fleet and continuing feedback from the members of the Freightliner Electric Vehicle Council will inform the production versions of both the eCascadia and the medium-duty Freightliner eM2.

“Our team is incredibly proud to be leading the way for the industry, but prouder still to be working with our customers in a process of co-creation to make real electric trucks for real work in the real world,” said DTNA President and CEO Roger Nielsen.

The Electric Vehicle Council consists of 38 Freightliner customers to identify and address hurdles to large-scale deployment of commercial battery-electric vehicles. Key discussion points include charging infrastructure, partnerships with other suppliers and vehicle specifications and vehicle use cases.

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The eCascadia, designed for local and regional distribution and drayage, and the medium-duty eM2 are currently planned to enter series production in late 2021.