Daimler expands electric truck line-up
PORTLAND/FRANKFURT: Daimler AG unveiled yesterday an allelectric big rig truck it promises to have in production in 2021, as the German carmaker mounts a major challenge to European and American rivals, including new entrants like Tesla Inc.
Truck buyers anticipate global regulation to curb pollution from trucks and see advantages from lower fuel and maintenance costs of electric vehicles, but a fleet technology switch is far from certain given challenges of cost, charging infrastructure, range, and the potential for heavy batteries to constrict payloads.
Daimler’s Freightliner eCascadia is an 18-wheeler with a 400km range, aimed for regional distribution and port services, while Tesla has said its Semi — which it expects to build by 2020 — will be suited to longer-distance runs with a 804km range.
Daimler yesterday unveiled a medium-duty Freightliner eM2 106, with a range of up to 370km, designed for local distribution.
Daimler said it would deliver a total of 30 prototypes on the two models to customers later this year for field-testing and expects to have the trucks in production in 2021.
Daimler, with a US$66.4 billion (RM264 billion) market capitalisation and best-known for its luxury Mercedes-Benz brand, has a 40 per cent share of the roughly YS$39 billion North American heavy-duty truck market.