After well more than one million-miles (1.6 million kilometers) of testing in daily customer operations, Daimler Truck and its US Freightliner brand recently unveiled the all-electric eCascadia that will enter series production in 2022. Built on the best-selling heavy-duty truck platform in North America, the new battery-electric Freightliner eCascadia provides customers with a zero-emission version of the industry-leading Cascadia.

Customer deliveries are expected to begin in 2022, bringing Daimler Truck and their US customers one step further towards CO₂-neutral transportation.

Since 2018, Freightliner has deployed trucks with customers to run freight in the real world covering a wide breadth of applications including local delivery, food distribution, and parcel delivery. Comprising more than 40 battery electric Freightliner eCascadias and eM2s, the Freightliner Electric Innovation and Customer Experience (CX) Fleets have transformed the testing process by putting trucks into the hands of almost 50 customers, including leading US fleets such as Penske Truck Leasing, NFI, Knight-Swift, Schneider, Ryder, J.B. Hunt and others.

Along with extensive development and rigorous testing through several prototypes, this resulted in a powerful and efficient battery electric truck with multiple battery and drive axle options, providing a typical range of 230 miles or 370 km (depending on vehicle configurations). The eCascadia is suited for short-haul routes that allow for depot-based charging, examples of which include last mile logistics, local and regional distribution, and warehouse-to-warehouse applications.

Within the context of its global platform strategy, Daimler Truck is deploying a globally uniform basic architecture for all-electric trucks: the ePowertrain. After the introduction of the Mercedes-Benz eActros last year and the Mercedes-Benz eEconic later this year, the Freightliner eCascadia is the next product to feature the in-house developed ePowertrain in connection with Daimler Truck North America’s Detroit brand.

The eCascadia is driven by an eAxle integrated with an electric motor, transmission and specialized electronics within a compact unit. It is available with a dual motor (470 hp) or a single motor (320 hp). Customers can chose between three battery options for a range of sizes and average, zero-to-full charging times starting with 194 kWh (one and a half to three hours), 291 kWh (two to four hours), and 438 kWh (two to six hours).