Mercedes brings electric trucks to the USA: trucks electrified

D Elon Musk shouldn't be that good like. And a number of startups that are currently looking for investors with visions of electric trucks have now literally been heavily involved in direct competition. Daimler Trucks, the largest commercial vehicle manufacturer in the world, has now introduced two new electric trucks especially for the North American market.

The models now presented by the Daimler subsidiary Freightliner cover the medium and heavy range . The Freightliner eCascadia has a total weight of over 15 tons, the Freightliner eM2 106 in the weight class between nine and twelve tons. As with previous electric trucks from Daimler, a limited fleet of currently around 30 vehicles will initially be handed over to selected customers in order to gain important insights into everyday practicality and increased efficiency in real operation.

Most successful US truck goes electric

The Freightliner eCascadia is based on the most successful heavy-duty truck in the USA, the Cascadia. Its electric drive achieves a maximum output of 730 PS, the battery capacity is 550 kWh. The range is specified as 400 kilometers, and 80 percent of the capacity should be able to be charged in 90 minutes using fast charging devices.

The Freightliner eM2 106 is also designed to be quite powerful. A maximum of 480 hp and 325 kWh battery capacity give it a range of a maximum of 300 kilometers. In this way, Daimler Trucks is also specifically responding to the wishes of US customers; the electric trucks presented so far for Europe are less powerfully motorized.

E-Mobility Group is developing global platforms

At the same time, Daimler Trucks is founding a new, globally operating group unit that deals with the research and development of electric commercial vehicles. The aim is to use synergies and develop faster solutions. In the future, the E-Mobility Group (EMG) will define the strategy for electrical components and complete e-vehicles across brands and divisions, and will develop a globally uniform architecture - analogous to the global platform strategy for conventional units and drive components. The employees work at various locations, including Portland, Stuttgart and Kawasaki.

With the two new models, Daimler Trucks claims that it hasThe widest range of fully electric commercial vehicles in the world’s range. In addition to the two electric Freightliner models now presented, this includes the Mercedes-Benz eActros, the FUSO eCanter, the Mercedes-Benz Citaro electric city bus and the Thomas Built Saf-T Liner C2 Jouley school bus