Penske gets first Freightliner electric truck

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Commercial Carrier Journal (CCJ)  /   December 20, 2018

Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) on Thursday delivered the first vehicle in its Freightliner Electric Innovation Fleet – a Freightliner eM2 – to Penske Truck Leasing, fulfilling the truck maker’s commitment to put an electric commercial truck in customer hands in 2018.

DTNA President and CEO Roger Nielsen handed over the eM2 key to Penske Truck Leasing President and CEO Brian Hard during an event in Carson, Calif. The two companies collaborated over nine months in the effort to bring this technology to market.

The introduction of the eM2 into Penske’s fleet is also a first in DTNA’s co-creation approach with customers as it co-develops technology to shape the future of transportation.

“With increased hauling demands and regulatory pressures, combined with ongoing concerns over energy resource depletion, it is more important than ever that DTNA continues to rigorously test and research electric vehicle solutions together with our customers,” Nielsen says. “Electric commercial vehicles present a real opportunity to advance the ideal of emissions-free mobility while improving our customers’ real cost of ownership (RCO).”

As the first step in its infrastructure deployment, Penske Truck Leasing will install 20 high-power charging stations across five of its California locations beginning this month. Next year, Penske will put an additional nine medium-duty electric eM2 trucks and 10 heavy-duty eCascadia electric trucks into targeted service in California and the Pacific Northwest. Penske will place the electric vehicles into service within its expansive logistics, truck leasing and truck rental fleets.

Also participating in the ceremony was Judy Mitchell, a governing board member at the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD), which focuses on improving air quality in the South Coast Basin. The Freightliner Electric Innovation Fleet is partially funded with a nearly $16 million grant from SCAQMD. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach also contributed to the grant.

“SCAQMD is using every tool in its tool box to bring cleaner and more efficient technology to the marketplace to reduce harmful mobile and stationary source emissions to our region,” says SCAQMD Governing Board Member Judy Mitchell. “SCAQMD is proud to be a part of this innovative and ground-breaking project and we look forward to seeing some positive results from these efforts in the coming year.”

Following the handover ceremony, the keys to the eM2 were turned over to Santa Claus to make its first holiday delivery of native plant seedlings to help restore communities that continue to suffer from devastating wildfire damage. Along with the seedling delivery, DTNA and Penske Truck Leasing made a joint $50,000 donation to the TreePeople, a local non-profit organization that plants and cares for trees throughout Los Angeles County and nearby mountain forests. This holiday delivery brings much needed resources for cleaning the air, creating green spaces, and cooling the city.

Earlier this year, DTNA formed the Freightliner Electric Vehicle Council composed of 30 customers with strong use-cases for electric trucks, including Penske Truck Leasing, to further drive its sustainable transportation program. The company is working with the council members to ensure a holistic approach to launching electric trucks. Members of the customer council benefit from co-development of deployment strategies for battery electric vehicles including applicable use cases, current legislation and requirements for facilities, charging infrastructure and service support.

The Freightliner eM2 truck is an electrified solution for local distribution, pickup and delivery, food and beverage delivery, and last-mile logistics applications. The Freightliner eCascadia is a Class 8 tractor designed for local and regional distribution and drayage. Both trucks enter series production in 2021.

The Freightliner eCascadia and eM2 are part of Daimler Trucks’ global electrified truck initiative, joining the company’s Thomas Built Buses all-electric Saf-T-Liner eC2 school bus, the FUSO eCanter, and the Mercedes-Benz eActros.

 

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DTNA delivers first battery-electric commercial truck to Penske

Trailer-Body Builder  /  December 20, 2018

Making good on its promise to put an electric commercial truck in customer hands in 2018, Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) on Thursday delivered the first vehicle in its Freightliner Electric Innovation Fleet – a Freightliner eM2 – to Penske Truck Leasing.

This delivery is a milestone in the real-world application of battery-electric commercial vehicles, as well as an important step towards emissions-free mobility, according to DTNA. Also noteworthy, the introduction of the eM2 into Penske’s fleet is a first in DTNA’s “co-creation” approach with customers as it co-develops technology to shape the future of transportation.

In June, Daimler executives presented the eM2 and the Freightliner eCascadia to investment analysts and business media, and announced plans to deliver an Electric Innovation Fleet of 30 vehicles to customers this year for further testing under real-world operating conditions.

In Thursday’s ceremony, Roger Nielsen, president and CEO of DTNA, handed over the eM2 key to Brian Hard, president and CEO of Penske Truck Leasing, during an event in Carson, CA.

“With increased hauling demands and regulatory pressures, combined with ongoing concerns over energy resource depletion, it is more important than ever that DTNA continues to rigorously test and research electric vehicle solutions together with our customers,” said Nielsen. “Electric commercial vehicles present a real opportunity to advance the ideal of emissions-free mobility while improving our customers’ real cost of ownership (RCO).”

The eM2 has up to 480 peak horsepower. The batteries provide 325 Kwh of usable capacity, a range of up to 230 miles and can charge up to 80% (providing a range of 184 miles) in about 60 minutes. The eM2 is Freightliner’s electrified solution for local distribution, pickup and delivery, food and beverage delivery, and last-mile logistics applications.

“Penske is honored to be the first company to put this new medium-duty electric truck into service,” said Hard. “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.”

As the first step in its infrastructure deployment, Penske Truck Leasing will install 20 high-power charging stations across five of its California locations starting this month. Next year, Penske will put an additional nine medium-duty electric eM2 trucks and 10 heavy-duty eCascadia electric trucks into targeted service in California and the Pacific Northwest. Penske will place the electric vehicles into service within its expansive logistics, truck leasing and truck rental fleets.

Also participating in the ceremony was Judy Mitchell, a governing board member at the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD), which focuses on improving air quality in the South Coast Basin. The Freightliner Electric Innovation Fleet is partially funded with a nearly $16 million grant from SCAQMD. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach also contributed to the grant.

“SCAQMD is using every tool in its tool box to bring cleaner and more efficient technology to the marketplace to reduce harmful mobile and stationary source emissions to our region,” said SCAQMD Governing Board Member Judy Mitchell. “SCAQMD is proud to be a part of this innovative and ground-breaking project and we look forward to seeing some positive results from these efforts in the coming year.”

Following the ceremony, the keys to the eM2 were turned over to Santa Claus to make a holiday delivery of native plant seedlings to help restore communities that continue to suffer from devastating wildfire damage. Along with the seedling delivery, DTNA and Penske Truck Leasing made a joint $50,000 donation to the TreePeople, a local non-profit organization that plants and cares for trees throughout Los Angeles County and nearby mountain forests.

“Trees truly make Los Angeles livable,” said Cindy Montañez, CEO of TreePeople. “Through the generosity of Daimler Trucks North America and Penske Truck Leasing, we can create climate-resilient neighborhoods lined with trees, which produce healthy, clean air.”

[james j neiweem]

Traitorske.

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Daimler Delivers Electric eM2 Truck to Penske Truck Leasing

Steven Martinez, Heavy Duty Trucking (HDT)  /  December 20, 2018

Daimler Trucks North America on Dec. 20 delivered the first vehicle in its new Electric Innovation Fleet to Penske Truck Leasing in Carson, California, the result of a nine-month collaboration between the two companies to produce and test electric commercial trucks in real-world applications.

The vehicle is an electric version of the Freightliner M2 106 medium-duty truck, dubbed the Freightliner eM2. The event marked the culmination of a year of work for Daimler, partially funded by a $16 million grant from California's South Coast Air Quality Management District, an agency focused on improving air quality in the ports region of Los Angeles.

DTNA President and CEO Roger Nielsen called it, “a historic step in the real-world application of electric vehicles. With increased hauling demands and regulatory pressures, combined with ongoing concerns over energy resource depletion, it is more important than ever that DTNA continues to rigorously test and research electric vehicle solutions together with our customers,” said Nielsen, who was on hand to deliver the keys to Penske CEO Brian Hard.

Penske plans to take on an additional nine eM2 trucks as well as 10 of the Class 8 Freightliner eCascadia model, which will be launched next year. The company will offer the electric trucks to customers to use in regular service for one to two years.

The electric trucks won’t be available to all Penske customers, only those that have an "actual use case" for them. Hard didn’t disclose which of Penske’s customers were interested in the truck, but said the company has “a good handle on whom the first customers will be” and that they represent a broad spectrum of applications.

The reason for the limited offering is that the rollout is not a full launch of the technology. Daimler referred to the trucks as "Gen 1 vehicles." As part of Daimler’s e-Mobility initiative, announced earlier this year, the company intends to use this limited deployment as a real-world testing ground, with all of the ups and downs of a product that is still very much in beta phase.

A One-Year Startup Project within Daimler

The Freightliner eM2 project was headed by senior eMobility lead Andreas Juretzka, who brought together a crack team of engineers to take the concept of an electric heavy- and medium-duty truck from drawing board to reality in just a year’s time – an incredibly short period compared to the company’s usual five-year development time for vehicles.

The eM2 has three large battery packs that straddle the bottom of the vehicle, providing an expected range of 200 miles. The batteries can be charged to 80% of capacity within an hour, but need an overnight charge to completely top off. Rather than selling chargers to each customer, Penske will have the chargers at its facilities and will provide technicians to work on the unique vehicles.

Juretzka told HDT that the trucks will be ready to perform and have been thoroughly tested for safety. He said his team used knowledge they had coupled with what other companies had done with their electric vehicles – "We can steal with pride," he told HDT – to produce something that was more thought-out than just strapping an electric powertrain to an existing truck. They had to consider all of the components and technologies that tie all the pieces together – the chassis, the electric motor, the batteries, the air compressor – to come up with a system that could be as usable as a traditional truck in certain applications.

The engine was spec'd to meet the power needs of a typical medium-duty truck in pickup and delivery, local distribution, and food and beverage delivery service, with 480 peak hp, according to the specs Daimler gave at the vehicle's announcement in June.

But the batteries are the key component, Juretzka said. The company will be using batteries from multiple manufacturers to see which performs the best during this two-year deployment. At the end of two years, Daimler plans to launch its Gen 2 version of the truck. 

Daimler assembled a group called the Freightliner Electric Vehicle Council, composed of 30 customers with strong use cases for an electric commercial truck. The company is working with council members on the launch of these trucks. Members of the council will benefit from co-development of deployment strategies for electric trucks, including applicable use cases, current legislation and requirements for facilities, charging infrastructure and service support.

It's still early days for commercial electric vehicle technology and costs are still three or four times that of a comparable diesel model, Nielsen told HDT.

While component costs are coming down Juretzka said it is likely too expensive to completely replace diesel trucks without government incentives. "The industry is right at the tipping point," he said of commercial electric trucks. "But it still needs funding."

The event concluded with Daimler and Penske honoring the eM2 team, all dressed in green and wearing green Santa hats. They loaded small trees into the back of one of the eM2s for delivery to a company called TreePeople.

As the first customer of the Freightliner eM2, TreePeople will use the seedlings to help replant the areas in California that were burned in the recent wildfires. The eM2 was driven off Penske's lot by a man dressed in a green Santa suit. It moved with complete silence, in stark contrast to the constant noise eminating from the nearby highway, a reminder that the coming electric-vehicle future could also cut down on noise pollution considerably.

After the festivities ended, Juretzka said he was glad to finally deliver the first eM2 just before the end of 2018, a goal of his and Daimler's. "If I could dance in front of you, I would do a dance," he said.

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[kscarbel2]

The two leading Class 6 trucks by sales are the Freightliner M2 106 and the international M<V Series (DuraStar. replacement. Both are available with the competent fleet-minded Cummins ISB/Allison drivetrain that the Ford F-650 is lacking.

But why does the M2 have to look like a droopy "Eeyore" of a truck that only a mother (or bean counter0 could love. I'd buy the International.

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