Trucksales Innovation Award 2021: The Winner

It was another unanimous decision from our judging panel that saw the Freightliner Cascadia claim the Trucksales Innovations Award 2021.

The Cascadia was launched with great fanfare after a rigorous testing program on both sides of the Pacific.

Daimler made a $100 million investment to develop the right-hand drive Cascadia and to ensure it was engineered for tough Australian conditions and the requirements of local operators.

“There is no such thing as a world truck,” said Chairman of the Board of Management, Daimler Truck AG, Martin Daum, at the Cascadia’s launch. “We are in nearly every market in the world, and we develop the trucks for those markets. Two things are crucial – innovation and customisation.

“We listened to our customers in Australia and New Zealand and developed this great truck specifically for them,” Mr Daum said.

New safety features for Cascadia include Sideguard Assist, which warns the driver if the truck’s turning trailer could hit objects such as power poles or other vehicles when turning left, or if the driver is about to merge left into an occupied lane. There is also a radar/camera system that can even detect a pedestrian and quickly bring the truck to a complete stop with no driver input required.

Safety is at the heart of the new Cascadia, with Freightliner Australia deciding to make advanced safety features standard on Australian-specified models.

Fleet operators can sleep easier knowing the Cascadia has the fully-integrated Detroit Assurance 5.0 system, which uses a radar and high-definition camera for active emergency braking and adaptive cruise control. Lane departure warning, intelligent high beam and automatic wipers/headlamps are also standard.

The Cascadia introduction also heralds the Australian arrival of Detroit Connect, which enables remote vehicle updates, fault code diagnosis and repair recommendations, OEM analysis of fuel economy and safety performance in addition to traditional telematics services such as GPS route tracking and incident alerts.

Overall, the Freightliner Cascadia is the most modern and innovative bonneted truck on the market today, and a worthy winner of the Trucksales Innovation Award for 2021.