There’s little debate that we’re heading down a road toward some level of trucking electrification. What’s up in the air is how we’ll get there and just how far that road will take us. Freightliner‘s eCascadia – the electric version of the company’s long-haul flagship – boasts a range of 250 miles, so we know we can go at least that far right now.
But considering the average long-haul trucker will cover 550 miles in a day, the immediate prospect of an electric Class 8 seems as limited as its range. That’s why, in the interim, Daimler Trucks has honed its immediate attention on medium duty, where the truck is lighter, duty cycle shorter and the need to heap on heavy (and expensive) battery packs diminishes.
Freightliner handed over its first eM2 – the first vehicle in the Freightliner Electric Innovation Fleet – last month to Penske Truck Leasing President and CEO Brian Hard. The two companies collaborated over nine months in the effort to bring this technology to market.
I was able to make a brief, roughly 1.3 mile loop in an eM2 around the Las Vegas Motor Speedway during the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) earlier this month.
The eM2 features up to three battery packs and a range of about 230 miles. My demo unit was outfitted with only one pack, dropping its range to around 50 miles.
If not for the cool blue light glowing in the grille, blue cab marker lights and the splashy wrap-job touting their fossil fuel-free propulsion systems, Freightliner’s eM2 and eCascadia look mostly like their diesel counterparts.
The eM2 boasts an impressive amount of torque and throttle response. There’s no lag waiting for the turbo to spool up. Just sink your left foot a little deeper to the floorboard and it takes off.
