Daimler Trucks North America has logged more than 1 million miles of real-world driving with its Class 8 and 6 electric trucks, allowing fleets to try them out and hope orders will follow.
Separately, rival Volvo Trucks on Wednesday announced its largest order to date, 100 FM electric trucks in Europe. Volvo has delivered electric 8 Series VNR models in California, New York and Texas.
Daimler, which had more than 40 electric trucks in evaluation fleets with NFI Industries and Penske Truck Leasing in Southern California, also offered short-term trials through its customer experience fleet to approximately 50 existing customers in the U.S. and Canada, hoping they will place orders. the purchase. For battery-powered trucks that will be delivered in late 2022.
The South Coast Air Quality Management District partially funded the evaluation fleets. The district is focusing on improving air quality in areas surrounding the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, where long lines of idling diesel trucks pollute the air on transit routes that traverse neighborhoods near the ports.
“turning point”
“We have reached a turning point in our electrification journey,” Rakesh Aneja, DTNA vice president and head of eMobility, said in a press release. “After a million miles of learning…we are ready to go from prototype to volume – from dozens of customer experience trucks to hundreds of production units.”
At the Advanced Clean Transportation Expo in September, California environmental authorities announced they would cover most of the cost of 80 eCascadias freighters for NFI Industries and charter carrier Schneider, whose fleet is about 95% freighters.
Daimler shared feedback from every fleet that used the trucks as part of its Electric Vehicle Council.
“Our rigorous testing has revealed that the powertrain and ancillary components, including HVAC, thermal management and low-voltage electrical systems, are high-performance and more than adequate for the task,” said Andreas Goretzka, Head of Electric Mobility Product Development at DTNA.
Benefits of regenerative braking
One important lesson was the importance of regenerative braking, which redirects energy from braking to the battery. The average recovery rate among pilots was 20-25%, with some drivers achieving up to 30%, Goretzka said.
DTNA is not stopping its truck electrification efforts. It has an in-house e-consulting team in Detroit that provides an end-to-end process for electrifying customer fleets and navigating charging infrastructure.
In May, DTNA’s Detroit technology unit launched Detroit eFill Chargers, a full suite of commercial vehicle charging stations designed for seamless integration with the Detroit ePowertrain range in eCascadia and eM2 trucks. In Europe, Mercedes-Benz power plants in Germany have begun producing key components for the battery-powered eActros.
Volvo’s large order for electric vehicles
At Volvo, the order for the 100 FM Electric came from DFDS, the largest shipping and logistics company in Northern Europe. This deal is among the largest deals to date for electric trucks worldwide.
“This will encourage many customers to confidently take the first step on their journey towards electric vehicles,” Roger Alm, president of Sweden-based Volvo Trucks, said in a press release.
Initial deliveries of the Volvo FM Electric to DFDS will begin in the fourth quarter of 2022 and continue throughout 2023. The trucks will be used for short and long haulage in the DFDS logistics system in Europe.
The FM Electric can carry a gross weight of 44 tons and has a range of 186 miles. Charging can be done overnight or by high power direct current charging while the rock is in service.
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The Port of Oakland is testing towing with Peterbilt Class 8 electric trucks
Click for more FreightWaves articles by Alan Adler.
