Daimler adds 2 electric truck models in race with Tesla, VW

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Reuters  /  June 6, 2018

PORTLAND -- Daimler AG unveiled on Wednesday an all-electric big rig truck it promises to have in production in 2021, as the German automaker mounts a major challenge to European manufacturers and Tesla Inc.

Daimler said the Freightliner eCascadia, with a range of up to 250 miles (402.34 km) and an 80,000 lb. (36.29 ton) gross combined weight, will be suitable for regional distribution and port shipments.

Daimler also unveiled a medium-duty Freightliner eM2 106, with a range of up to 230 miles, designed for local distribution, food and beverage delivery, and "final-mile" logistics services.

Daimler said it will deliver 30 vehicles to customers later this year for field-testing and expects to have the trucks in production by 2021.

The announcement came after Daimler's trucks division said it has set up a research and development center for autonomous driving in the United States, the latest sign of the German manufacturer's commitment to getting self-driving freight trucks on the road.

Engineers at the new center in Portland, Ore., will draw on r&d resources at Daimler Trucks operations in Germany and India to create a global network of hundreds of specialists in the autonomous driving sphere, the company said on Wednesday.

Daimler will invest more than 2.5 billion euros ($2.9 billion) in r&d at its truck operations by 2019, with more than 500 million euros earmarked for electric heavy-duty commercial vehicles, connectivity and self-driving technology, including the new Portland r&d center, it said.

"We are pioneering technologies across the automated vehicle spectrum that make roads safer and help trucking companies boost productivity," said Sven Ennerst, head of truck product engineering at Daimler.

The announcement was made during the Daimler Trucks Capital Market and Technology Day at Portland where the division already has a significant r&d presence including a heavy-duty truck wind tunnel.

Daimler also plans to expand its lineup of battery-powered trucks to help comply with tougher carbon dioxide emissions rules in Europe, said Martin Daum, head of the division.

Serial production of the eActros truck with an operating range of up to 200 kilometers (125 miles) will start in 2021, said Ennerst, citing tests with other models including the eFuso and eCanter trucks.

A presentation revealed that Daimler has plans for more than a dozen more electrified trucks worldwide, including the new eCascadia model for North America to compete with Tesla's planned long-distance Semi electric truck.

Separately, Daimler Trucks expects a strong second half of the year but second-quarter business remains challenging, its finance chief said, citing problems in the supply chain.

"Q2 will be challenging but we see a strong second half of the year," Jochen Goetz said.

"We are currently facing some problems on the supply chain, we will not lose a single truck but some (trucks) might be invoiced in Q3."

A new restructuring will not be needed, Goetz said, adding the truckmaker would focus on executing its previous savings plan and aim to lower costs by 1.4 billion euros as planned by 2019.

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Freightliner debuts electric Cascadia, M2

Truck News  /  June 6, 2018

PORTLAND, Ore. – Daimler Trucks boldly proclaimed it intends to be the world’s leader in electric trucks, and it showed for the first time its electric-powered eCascadia and eM2 for the North American market.

The announcements and electric truck debuts came at the company’s Capital Market and Technology Day here, in front of investors and media.

“The Freightliner eCascadia and eM2 are designed to meet customer needs for electrified commercial vehicles serving dedicated, predictable routes where the vast majority of daily runs fall between 45 and 150 miles,” said Roger Nielsen, president and chief executive officer of Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA). “These innovative trucks reflect DTNA’s commitment to bring practical, game-changing technology to market. The eCascadia, utilizing North America’s bestselling Class 8 platform, and eM2 106, based on one of the most in-demand medium-duty truck designs, are built on validated, series production trucks in extensive use by our customers every day.”

The eCascadia boasts up to 730 peak horsepower, with batteries located at the axle ends that produce 550 Kwh of usable power. It’ll have a range of up to 250 miles and can be recharged to 80% of its power within 90 minutes, providing another 200 miles of range. It’s aimed at regional distribution and drayage applications. It’s capable of handling a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 80,000 lbs.

The eM2 medium-duty truck produces 480 peak horsepower, with batteries that provide 325 Kwh of capacity for a range of up to 230 miles. It can be charged to 80% within an hour, providing another 184 miles of range. It’s designed for local distribution, pickup-and-delivery, food and beverage delivery, and last mile logistics applications. The eM2, said Nielsen, represents the broadest range of opportunities that are practical today. It has a GCWR of 26,000 lbs.

“Our primary goal at DTNA is bringing vehicles to market that are safe, reliable and efficient. Heavy-duty electric vehicles present the greatest engineering challenges, but they also are the best learning laboratories,” Nielsen said. “We have decades of experience in successfully producing durable commercial vehicles in high volumes that stand up to the demands our customers place on them. We now bring this unmatched experience and expertise to the electric truck category.”

Martin Daum, head of Daimler Trucks globally, said electrification is not new to Daimler. He noted the company produced a Fuso eCanter prototype as far back as 2010. Daum said Daimler will work closely with customers to jointly gain knowledge of how to use electric trucks, and in which segments to do so. Daimler also launched a new electrification strategy dubbed EMG – its e-Mobility Group.

Nielsen said the time is right to roll out a line of electric commercial vehicles, thanks to maturing battery technology, lower battery costs, improved power density, and more use cases where the real cost of ownership of running electric trucks if favorable when compared to conventional powertrains.

“We are ready to pivot our future business environment to bring e-mobility solutions into the real of our core business,” Nielsen said. “We have much to learn but we are well on our way.”

Thirty eCascadias and eM2s will be deployed with fleets later this year, as part of the Freightliner Electric Innovation fleet. They’ll be evaluated in real-world applications.

Meanwhile, the company is also working to support charging infrastructure development. Daimler AG is a founding member of CharIN – the Charging Interface Initiative – which is looking to develop a standard charging system for battery-powered vehicles. Daimler’s leading a CharIN task force that will develop a new electric commercial vehicle charging standard globally.

“We are the undisputed global leader of the trucking industry and we want to remain in that position also with regards to electric trucks,” said Daum. “We were first-movers on electric trucks and we strive to provide the leading electric truck in each relevant segment. With the foundation of the global electric mobility group, we maximize the impact of our investments in this key strategic technology field. Thus, we can go for the best solutions in batteries, charging solutions and energy management.”

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Daimler Trucks North America to Build Electric Cascadia, M2 Trucks

Heavy Duty Trucking (HDT)  /  June 6, 2018

PORTLAND, OREGON. Freightliner Trucks premiered two fully electrified commercial vehicles, a Freightliner eCascadia and a Freightliner eM2 106, during the Daimler Trucks Capital Market and Technology Day on June 6. Freightliner plans to deliver an Electric Innovation Fleet of 30 vehicles to customers later this year for further testing under real-world operating conditions.

Both electrified Freightliner models are designed to fit specific applications, carefully identified through an extensive “co-creation process” with customers.

For the eCascadia, for instance, the focus is on port drayage and local and regional distribution. The eM2 is designed for local distribution, pickup and delivery, food and beverage delivery, and last-mile logistics applications.

The eCascadia uses wheel-end motors to produce up to 730 peak horsepower. The batteries provide 550 Kwh usable capacity, a range of up to 250 miles, and have the ability to charge up to 80% (providing a range of 200 miles) in about 90 minutes.

The eM2 has up to 480 peak horsepower. The batteries provide 325 Kwh of usable capacity, a range of up to 230 miles, and have the ability to charge up to 80% (providing a range of 184 miles) in about 60 minutes.

“The Freightliner eCascadia and eM2 are designed to meet customer needs for electrified commercial vehicles serving dedicated, predictable routes where the vast majority of daily runs fall between 45 and 150 miles,” said Roger Nielsen, president and chief executive officer of DTNA.

The Freightliner eCascadia with 80,000 lb. gross combined weight rating (GCWR) and eM2 with 26,000 lb. GCWR are part of Daimler Trucks’ global electrified truck initiative. The Mercedes-Benz eActros, with a range up to 124 miles and a 55,000 lb. GCWR, is now entering testing for distribution applications with customers in Europe, while the E-Fuso Vision One, a Class 8 concept truck in Japan with a range of 220 miles and a 51,000 lb. GCWR, gives an outlook on the electrification of the Fuso portfolio. The Fuso eCanter, a light-duty truck, is already in regular production as a fully electric truck from Daimler Trucks.

“Our primary goal at DTNA is bringing vehicles to market that are safe, reliable and efficient. Heavy-duty electric vehicles present the greatest engineering challenges, but they also are the best learning laboratories,” Nielsen said.

“DTNA is preparing to pivot our future business environment to bring e-mobility solutions into the realm of our core business,” he noted. “Battery technology is rapidly improving and bringing costs down and power density up. Now we see applications to develop use cases for electric vehicles that match the real cost of ownership with conventional powertrains.”

Leveraging Global Scale

Daimler emphasized that this rollout is part of a global effort, and in fact the goal is to develop a single proprietary electric system that will be used on its products around the world.

Saying that it aims to become “the undisputed number one when it comes to e-mobility,” Daimler said it has bundled all of its electric activities under a new organization for e-mobility: the E-Mobility Group (EMG).

EMG will define the strategy for everything from electrical components to completely electric vehicles for all brands and all business divisions, while also working to create a single global electric architecture.

EMG is globally structured, with employees working cross-functional in various locations throughout the company's worldwide development network, e.g. in Portland (U.S.), Stuttgart (Germany) and Kawasaki (Japan)

Daimler Trucks commercial electric vehicles breakthroughs already entering the market include:

• Thomas Built Buses Saf-T-Liner C2 electric school bus, Jouley, with a range of up to 100 miles that starts limited production in 2019

• More than 100 electric vehicles built by Freightliner Custom Chassis Corp. in 2012 with supplier Electric Vehicles International (EVI) on the MT-55 walk-in van chassis are still on the roads today

• The Fuso eCanter, a fully electric Class 4 light-duty truck in regular production with electric urban delivery vehicles being delivered to various customers in North America, Asia and Europe

• The fully electric Mercedes-Benz Citaro is based on the global bestseller Mercedes-Benz Citaro, going into full production in late 2018

• The Mercedes-Benz eActros is a fully electrified heavy-duty distribution truck starting operations with initial first customers in the second half of 2018

Developing Charging Infrastructure

DTNA understands the success of electric commercial vehicles requires extensive knowledge and support on the infrastructure side, and is leading the initiative to develop a commercial vehicle charging infrastructure for North America.

Germany-based Daimler AG, DTNA’s parent, is a founding member of CharIN, the Charging Interface Initiative – an effort to develop a standard charging system for battery-powered vehicles. DTNA itself is heading a CharIN taskforce to develop a new electric commercial vehicle charging standard globally, collaborating with utilities and service providers.

While the Society of Automotive Engineers recently released charging recommendations for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, Andreas Juretzka, chief engineer for Daimler’s e-mobility efforts, told HDT that they are concerned that the SAE process may not move quickly enough. The trucks shown here to journalists and investors were equipped with European charging ports.

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Daimler unveils two all-electric Freightliner trucks

Fleet Owner  /  June 6, 2018

PORTLAND, OR. Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) unveiled on June 6 what President and CEO Roger Nielsen said will be the “broadest [electric] truck fleet in North America by 2021.”

The unveiling of the Freightliner eCascadia heavy-duty truck and Freightliner eM2 medium-duty model took place on the same day DTNA announced the creation of the Automated Truck Research and Development Center in Portland.

Electric mobility is an “important part of the company for the future,” said Martin Daum, president of Daimler’s global truck and bus unit.

“We have decades of experience in successfully producing durable commercial vehicles in high volumes that stand up to the demands our customers place on them," Nielsen said. "We now bring this unmatched experience and expertise to the electric truck category.” 

Nielsen, who rolled up to the press conference in an all-electric Saf-T-Liner C2 Jouley school bus manufactured by Daimler’s Thomas Built Buses unit, noted that “battery technology is catching up to our expectations.” That bus is slated to begin limited production in 2019 and will join the Fuso eCanter, a fully electric light-duty truck.

He then introduced the eCascadia, which he said can offer a range of 250 miles, and be recharged up to 80% of capacity in 90 minutes, offering an additional 200 miles of driving. The eCascadia has up to 730 peak horsepower, and the batteries provide 550 Kwh usable capacity.

Immediately after, the eM2 was debuted, which offers a 230-mile range and ability to recharge to 80% in 60 minutes, providing drivers another 180 miles. It has up to 480 peak horsepower.

Nielsen stated the vehicles will be in “serious production in the next two-to-three years.” In the meantime, DTNA in 2018 will roll out the “Freightliner Electric Innovation Fleet,” which includes delivery of the first 30 eCascadias and eM2s to “customers hauling real freight,” Nielsen added. 

Meanwhile, Daimler said the automated truck center would be built on the grounds of the company’s existing headquarters in Portland. Engineers will work in close coordination with colleagues in Germany and India.

As part of the day’s events, DTNA showcased a series of demonstrations, including automatic emergency braking of a two-truck platoon.

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Freightliner Unveils All-Electric eCascadia, eM2 Models

Transport Topics  /  June 6, 2018

PORTLAND, Ore. — Freightliner Trucks introduced the first all-electric versions of its heavy-duty Cascadia and medium-duty M2 models here, a major step toward bringing a full lineup of electric trucks to the North American market.

The first-generation eCascadia and eM2 test vehicles were unveiled here June 6 at the Portland International Raceway during Daimler Trucks’ capital market and technology day.

Freightliner plans to deliver 30 of the trucks to customers later this year. This “electric innovation fleet” will further test the vehicles in real-world operations, the company said.

The manufacturer intends to begin series production of the two models in 2021.

The Class 8 eCascadia, which offers 730 peak horsepower and a maximum range of up to 250 miles on a single charge, is designed for local and regional distribution and drayage operations. The vehicle can charge up to 80% in about 90 minutes, the company said.

The eM2 has 480 peak horsepower, a range of up to 230 miles and can charge to 80% in about 60 minutes, the company said, adding that the vehicle is well-suited to local distribution, pickup and delivery, food and beverage and final-mile delivery.

Martin Daum, the head of Daimler’s global truck and bus business, said the company has set out to be the clear industry leader in e-mobility.

“We were the first movers on electric trucks and we strive to provide the leading electric truck in each relevant segment,” said Daum, who arrived at the presentation in a Fuso eCanter model, a fully electric Class 4 cabover that already is in production.

“These innovative trucks reflect DTNA’s commitment to bring practical, game-changing technology to market,” said Daimler Trucks North America CEO Roger Nielsen.

Nielsen asked the event production crew to cut the music as the eCascadia and M2 drove into view to illustrate how quietly the vehicles run.

Nielsen entered in a Saf-T-Liner C2 Jouley, an all-electric school bus from Thomas Built Buses, another division of DTNA. The bus, which has a 100-mile range, is set to enter limited production in 2019.

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Penske, NFI to Test Daimler’s Electric Trucks in Regular Operations

Heavy Duty Trucking (HDT)  /  June 27, 2018

Penske Truck Leasing and NFI have agreed to partner with Daimler Trucks North America in operating the Freightliner Electric Innovation Fleet of electric vehicles which includes the recently unveiled heavy-duty eCascadia and eM2 106 medium-duty trucks.

Through its Innovation fleet of 30 vehicles, DTNA will involve customers in the development of commercial electric vehicles in order to better understand how they will be used and where they will be most effective. Penske will take on 10 eCascadias and 10 eM2s for use in California and the Pacific Northwest, while NFI will use 10 eCascadias for drayage activities in Southern California.

The Innovation Fleet will start delivering vehicles to Penske and NFI as soon as late 2018. To speed up the development process, DTNA will also operate electric trucks within its own Product Validation Engineering test fleet in Oregon. The company plans use knowledge gained form these partnerships to prepare its facilities and fleet operations for electric trucks as soon as 2021.

“Running multiple trucks in real-world applications will provide better insights for our engineers into the requirements of integrating electric commercial vehicles into fleet operations," said Roger Nielsen, president and chief executive officer of DTNA. "We are partnering with these two customers for this phase of the co-creation process because they have use cases that closely fit the target applications we have identified.”

DTNA has also announced the Electric Vehicle Council has been tasked with preparing customers in evaluating and integrating electric vehicle solutions into their operations. The information from Innovation Fleet testing will be shared with the customer base through the Council. It will also discuss planned product offerings with customers and gather feedback as the company moves toward commercializing electric trucks.

The Electric Vehicle Council will also work with customers to establish the necessary charging infrastructure, vehicle deployment, and service support that will be required when electric trucks become commercially available. DTNA also plans to offer consulting services to assist with site selection based on truck applications, available government incentives, infrastructure deployment, and route identification as part of a preliminary review prior to commercial electric vehicle business proposals.

"The DTNA approach to bring commercial electric vehicles to market is holistic. With the Freightliner Electric Innovation Fleet, we will be working, hands on, with Penske and NFI," said Richard Howard, senior vice president, sales and marketing, Freightliner Trucks. "While heavy-duty electric vehicles present the greatest engineering challenges, we're committed to a process that leads to series production vehicles that are safe, reliable and efficient.”