Penske Truck Leasing and Daimler Truck North America (DTNA) have delivered two battery-electric production model Freightliner eCascadia semi-trucks, marking the culmination of a period of co-creation, refinement and field testing that kicked off nearly five years ago.
Penske has been an early adopter of battery electric commercial vehicles and has invested in testing, maintaining and building out charging infrastructure to support these vehicles. The company has been testing in real-world conditions across its leasing, rental, and logistics fleets in a variety of industries, including retail, manufacturing, grocery, quick-service restaurant chains, medical, and many others.
“Interest in electric vehicles continues to grow as our customers seek to further reduce emissions,” says Paul Rosa, senior vice president of procurement and fleet planning at Penske. “We’re committed to providing our customers with the latest vehicle technologies to help them achieve their sustainability goals. We anticipate adding more electric vehicles across our fleet for full-service leasing, rental, and for use within our logistics business. We commend DTNA for their collaborative approach in bringing these innovative vehicles to market.”
Since 2018, Penske Truck Leasing and DTNA have collaborated on testing and introducing electric vehicles to customers, including the Freightliner eM2 and eCascadia models. Along the way, the companies have marked many notable milestones including two recent efforts to be the first companies ever to use the electric trucks to haul high-performance race cars in both the NASCAR and IndyCar racing series.
“Penske is a true pioneer in bringing advanced technologies to the road,” states David Carson, senior vice president sales and marketing at DTNA. “As a long-term, trusted partner in our electrification journey, Penske played an integral role in shaping the eCascadia to what is now available to all customers and making our highways a safer and cleaner place for us and generations to come.”