All-electric truck wars

GERMAN automaker Daimler has unveiled an all-electric big-rig truck it promises to have in production in 2021, as it mounts a major challenge to European manufacturers and Tesla.

Daimler’s Freightliner eCascadia is an 18-wheeler with a 400km range, aimed for regional distribution and port services, compared to Tesla’s Semi – expected to be built by 2020 – which it says will be suited to longer-distance runs with a 800km range.

Daimler said it would start delivering prototypes to customers later this year for fieldtesting.