Look for the first Freightliner eM2 on the road in LA
Daimler Trucks delivered the first out of 10 fully electric Freightliner eM2 trucks to Penske Truck Leasing Corporation in Los Angeles, which will test the vehicles before the launch of series production in 2021. Penske Truck Leasing will also get 10 Freightliner eCascadia heavy-duty trucks at a later stage.
The eM2 will be used in day to day-operation in local distribution traffic in the Northwest Pacific and in California.
As the Penske Truck Leasing Corporation is a global transportation services provider operating more than 270.000 vehicles, results of the tests are extremely important for the manufacturer.
Freightliner eM2 specs:
- up to 480 peak horsepower
- 325 kWh usable battery capacity
- up to 230 miles (370 km) of range
- ability to charge up to 80 percent (providing a range of 184 miles) in about 60 minutes
- 26,000 lb. gross combined weight rating (GCWR)
Brian Hard, President and CEO of Penske Truck Leasing said:
“Penske is honored to be the first company to put this new medium-duty electric truck into service. I commend and thank Roger Nielsen and his team at Daimler Trucks North America for their outstanding collaboration and spirit of co-creation with us over the last nine months to bring this innovative technology to market. Penske is committed to providing the most effective vehicle technologies to our customers and driving innovation and sustainability when it comes to mobility.”
Martin Daum, Daimler Board Member responsible for Trucks and Buses, said:
“We aim to be frontrunners with electric trucks just as we are with conventional trucks – and we deliver on this objective once again: With the hand-over of our Freightliner eM2 to Penske Truck Leasing Corporation, we now test electric trucks in all segments in day to day operations with our clients worldwide. When it comes to innovations the demands of our customers are pivotal for us. Together we develop solutions for the future of trucks. We’ve got news coming already in January: At Las Vegas’s Consumer Electric Show we are going to announce further commitment of our next steps in another key technology: automated driving”
Gesa Reimelt, head of E-mobility Group Daimler Trucks & Buses:
“Early on, Daimler has started electrifying its trucks. Today, customers in the US, Japan and Europe already operate our battery-driven trucks almost noiseless and locally free of emissions: Our light-weight FUSO eCanter which is in series production and our near-series heavy-duty truck Mercedes-Benz eActros. In collaboration with our clients, we are now going to speed up developing our electric Freightliner models eCascadia and eM2 to optimize them for tough everyday operations – technologically and economically. Here we benefit from our global sharing of knowledge and experience within our E-Mobility Group. It pools all of our e-activities in one organization – independently of brand, region and vehicle segment.”
Source: Electric Vehicle News
