Velocity Truck Rental & Leasing, a subsidiary of Velocity Vehicle Group, is stepping up its efforts to introduce zero-emission trucks to the commercial sector. The company has added 200 battery-electric trucks to its rental and leasing business, including 125 Class 8 Freightliner eCascadia’s and 75 Class 6 & 7 Freightliner eM2’s from Daimler Truck North America (DTNA). The new rental and leasing fleet, along with supporting infrastructure to charge vehicles in 90 minutes or less, will enable Velocity’s customers to deploy zero-emission trucks quickly and cost-effectively into their operations.
According to David Deon, President of Velocity Truck Rental and Leasing, “The acquisition of our new battery-powered fleet allows our customers the opportunity to go zero-emissions quickly, in addition to offering cost-saving measures through quick-charging infrastructure that is included in our leasing program.”
See also: Freightliner eCascadia electric truck : Specifications, Battery and Range
Both Freightliner models are battery-powered and can run up to 230 miles. The larger eCascadia is an all-electric version of North America’s best-selling Class 8 truck, designed for short-haul and last-mile delivery routes. The eM2 is a highly maneuverable, quiet and comfortable Class 6-7 EV truck engineered for regional pick-up and delivery routes.
Velocity serves on the Electric Vehicle Council in partnership with DTNA and participates in the Customer Experience Fleet to test the eCascadia in real-world applications. The Freightliner eCascadia and eM2 models have been driven over 1.5 million miles by customer-partners.
“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 well as help DTNA make progress toward its global freight electrification goals,” said DTNA SVP, Sales and Marketing, David Carson.
Velocity has also installed 39 dual port 150 kW chargers at multiple Southern California locations, providing customers with an affordable, reliable, and immediate option to charge battery-electric trucks. The high-powered technology allows the Freightliner eM2 to reach an 80% state of charge in approximately 60 minutes for the Class 6 model and 90 minutes for the Class 7 model. Similarly, the Class 8 Freightliner eCascadia can achieve an 80% state of charge in approximately 90 minutes utilizing dual port charging.
See also: Daimler starts customer deliveries of Freightliner eCascadia all-electric semi-truck
The chargers will be installed at key locations along transit corridors with 17 in Rancho Dominguez, 10 in Fontana, 10 in Industry, and two in San Diego. Velocity’s customers will have access to these high-powered chargers as either their primary or supplementary charging location as part of the lease agreement.
Overall, Velocity’s investment in electric trucks and charging infrastructure is an important step forward in achieving a zero-emissions future for the commercial transportation sector. As Kevin Kuo, President of Arrowlink USA, Inc. put it, “Our team is excited to integrate zero-emission Freightliner eCascadia trucks into our port drayage operations so that we can reduce our impact on the local community as we transport freight between Southern California’s busy ports and local warehouses.”