Freightliner reveals its electric reality

With all the hoopla surrounding start-up electric truck companies, and the likes of Tesla making empty promises of fully electric heavy-duty trucks, it was incredibly refreshing to experience the real thing when Trucksales recently visited Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA).

You see, DTNA, or Freightliner to be specific, already has electric test trucks on the road in both prime mover and heavy rigid guises. The prime mover, called the eCascadia, is basically the same as the new Cascadia that we’ll be getting here early next year, but with the diesel driveline taken out and replaced with a fully electric driveline.

The rigid truck, called the eM2, is designed for urban delivery applications and boasts a GVM of 12-15 tonnes.

The Freightliner Electro Mobility Group has been testing the trucks since June last year and the big news is that they will be starting series production in 2021.

We were given unprecedented access to the Group and the Head of the EMG Platform, Michael Scheib, during our visit to DTNA headquarters. Mr Scheib said that currently DTNA is spending $400 million per year on electrifying its trucks and buses.

"We started here with 10 people in our team and now we have around 350," he said.

"We're building momentum and now we have vehicles up and running."

Mr Scheib went on to say that that the team started in June 2018 with two trucks, one eCascadia and one eM2, and by late 2018 they had 20 eCascadias and 10 eM2s.

"We want market leadership [in the electric truck market]," he said.

"We'll be building here in Portland, Oregon, as it's close to California, which will be one of our first major markets. Also we have our testing area nearby."

Mr Scheib said there are huge incentives in California for operators who buy electric trucks so it makes sense to target that state for sales.

We were fortunate to be invited to visit the previously secret factory within the sprawling DTNA site, where the electric trucks are being built and tested.

Mr Scheib said that when it's fully up to speed, Freightliner will be able to turn out up to 7000 electric trucks per year.

The Freightliner eCascadia and eM2 are part of Daimler Trucks' global electrified truck initiative, joining the company's Thomas Built Buses all-electric Saf-T-Liner C2 Jouley school bus, the Fuso eCanter, and the Mercedes-Benz eActros and eCitaro.

Mr Scheib said that with the global tie-up, Freightliner was able borrow technology and knowledge from Daimler's other brands to fast-track the American company's products to market.

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The current 6x4 eCascadia is running three motors – two on the rear axle and one on the front axle – and is developing 540hp (400kW). Range is quoted at 250 miles (400km) and charge time is 90 minutes for an 80 per cent charge.

The medium-duty eM2 is currently rated at 360hp (270kW), has a range of over 225 miles (360km) and also has a recharge time of around 90 minutes.

Interestingly, the electric Freightliners are running a gearbox with two forward gears, reverse and neutral. The lower forward gear gives added engine braking and easier take-off while the taller gear gives enhanced cruising.

"We have a Daimler company called Accumotive to supply us with batteries," Scheib told us.

"It already has its own giga-factory in East Germany so our supply is guaranteed."

Mr Scheib admitted that electric trucks are not for everyone, but they were ideal for urban delivery, waste disposal and last-mile applications.

"At DTNA we have a consulting team to help potential buyers find the right applications for the trucks and take care of the customers – it's all about getting the right trucks to the right people," he said.

In a recent press release Freightliner said that co-creation is the central tenet of DTNA's approach to electrifying the future of commercial vehicles and a key enabler to the widespread adoption of battery-electric trucks.

The company's Electric Vehicle Council brings together 38 Freightliner customers to identify and address all potential hurdles to the large-scale deployment of commercial battery-electric vehicles. Issues at the forefront of the discussion include charging infrastructure, partnerships with other parties, vehicle specifications and vehicle use cases.

Penske Truck Leasing of Reading, Pennsylvania, and NFI of Camden, New Jersey, are both members of the Freightliner Electric Vehicle Council and will be the first companies to employ the eCascadia in their commercial operations. The eCascadias are destined for the southern California operations of both companies and will arrive later this month. Additional deliveries of the Freightliner Electric Innovation Fleet will continue throughout 2019.

The eCascadia and eM2 are both built using the diesel variant as a donor vehicle with the drivetrain replaced by the electric components.

"We have to change all the systems driven by belts and motors to electric," said Mr Scheib.

"This includes such things as air compressors, air conditioning and cooling, they all have to be converted.”

And as the current Cascadia and M2 rigid are built in right-hand drive, Freightliner will have the wherewithal to build the electric versions in RHD too.

Asked whether the eCascadia would come to this country, a Daimler Trucks spokesman said it would depend on demand.

"If there is solid demand for it and we can order in reasonable numbers, we will get slots on the manufacturing line and we could conceivably bring it here," he said.