Freightliner’s Innovation Fleet recently accumulated more than 300,000 miles in real-world use by customers. The 30-vehicle fleet consists of battery-electric medium- and heavy-duty trucks that are used to test integration of this technology into large-scale commercial transportation operations.

“Co-creation with our customers is a cornerstone of Freightliner’s unique approach to the market,” said Richard Howard, senior vice president, on-highway sales and marketing for Daimler Trucks North America. “The knowledge and expertise our logistics customers have in fleet operations with their thousands of trucks is invaluable as we design and engineer the zero emissions future of the commercial vehicle.”

The Freightliner Innovation Fleet, supported by the South Coast Air Quality Management District, includes 10 eM2s and 20 eCascadias testing in a variety of applications: drayage, regional and local delivery, food distribution, and parcel delivery.

“Crossing the threshold of 300,000 miles of testing, then one million miles, then more — together — before we begin series production of battery electric trucks will ensure we deliver the performance and reliability our customers count on and which has made Freightliner the undisputed leader in commercial trucks,” said Howard.

The 300,000 miles logged by the fleet included:

• 5,660 one-way trips between the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles to the warehousing centers of California's Inland Empire

• 2,500 trips to complete the average local distribution run

• 41 trips to travel to all 10 DTNA parts distribution centers located in North America

• 12 trips to circle the globe

The planned start of production for the Freightliner eCascadia is mid-2022, and the Freightliner eM2 is slated for late 2022.