Daimler Truck North America, a subsidiary of German automaker Daimler AG, has secured a deal to supply 200 zero-emission trucks to Velocity Truck Rental & Leasing in the US. The deal includes 125 eCascadia and 75 eM2 trucks from Daimler’s US brand Freightliner, and the rental company expects the battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) to be fully operational by 2025.
Velocity opted for the largest battery version of both Freightliner models, which can run up to 230 miles (370 km) on a single charge. The eCascadia, which is an all-electric version of North America’s best-selling Class 8 truck, is suited for short-haul and last-mile delivery routes. The eM2, a Class 6-7 EV truck, is engineered for regional pickup and delivery routes.
Velocity has already had real-life experiences with the Freightliner electric trucks, having served on the Electric Vehicle Council to test the eCascadia in real-world applications. The rental company and DTNA have collectively driven more than 1.5 million miles with the eCascadia and eM2 models.
See also: Freightliner eCascadia electric truck : Specifications, Battery and Range
“Our team is excited to integrate zero-emission Freightliner eCascadia trucks into our port drayage operations,” said Kevin Kuo, President of Arrowlink USA, Inc. “Velocity Truck Rental & Leasing has made the entire process easy for our team – including helping us determine the right truck configurations for our routes, providing training to our drivers, and supporting us in developing a plan to charge our trucks.”
Velocity has invested in 39 high-powered chargers with 150 kW capacity and two outlets, which will be installed at key locations along transit corridors. This will allow the eM2 to reach an 80% state of charge in approximately 60 minutes (Class 6) and 90 minutes for the Class 7 model. Similarly, using dual-port charging, the Class 8 Freightliner eCascadia can achieve an 80% state of charge in approximately 90 minutes.
David Carson, DTNA Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing, said: “The Velocity team is making considerable investments to help its fleet customers successfully integrate medium- and heavy-duty battery-electric vehicles into their operations. As one of DTNA’s largest dealership partners, Velocity also adds value as a solution-orientated member on our EV taskforce identifying tactical methods to electrify more fleets in the commercial sector.”
See also: Daimler Truck receives order for 800 Freightliner eCascadia electric trucks from Sysco
The first five Freightliner eCascadia trucks have already been deployed to Arrowlink Logistics to support pickups and deliveries at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, which have reportedly been working towards zero-emission operations for some time.
