TRUCKS & TRANSPORTATION
DAIMLER TRUCKS TARGETS BATTERY-ELECTRIC AS EMISSIONS-FREE COMMERCIAL TRANSPORT SOLUTION
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oger Nielsen, president and CEO of Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA), the largest commercial vehicle manufacturer in North America, recently declared battery-electric vehicles as the solution to achieve emissions-free commercial transportation in North America. Speaking to a crowd assembled in Long Beach, Nielsen said, “The road to emissions-free transportation is going to be driven with battery-electric vehicles. I believe the future is electric.” The road to emissions-free driving, he continued, does not include plug-in hybrids for DTNA. Near-zero-emissions natural gas medium- and heavy-duty vehicles are currently available and will continue from Freightliner as an interim solution until full commercialization of the battery-electric Freightliner eM2 and eCascadia. The company sees potential for hydrogen fuel cells to extend battery-electric truck range, but does not see it as viable in the near term. The vision of electric vehicles does not exclude fuel cells: “I can see glimpse of it over the horizon, but it will not be this generation of engineers who will be delivering it,” continued Nielsen. To hasten the arrival of zero-emission commercial transport, three goals must first be achieved. First, the industry must work together to establish a common battery-electric vehicle charging infrastructure. Daimler AG is a founding member of CharIN, an organization whose aim is to standardize charging requirements for electric vehicles, including commercial vehicles. Second, batteries must become cheaper, lighter and more powerful. DTNA is leveraging its global network to develop proprietary batteries for its commercial vehicles that meet the standards of quality, durability and integration that customers demand. Finally, the real cost of ownership for customers must be strengthened through increased incentives, decreased maintenance costs, and cheaper energy costs. Organizations like the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) will be instrumental in creating a viable business case for electric trucks. A $16M grant from SCAQMD partially funds the Freightliner Electric Innovation Fleet. The key to ensuring electric vehicles are ready for commercialization is testing. DTNA and its global affiliates exhaustively test their electric vehicles over millions of miles on the track and in the real-world. With its first electric truck already in customer hands, DTNA plans to put nearly 50 on the road by the end of the year. This includes a test fleet and the Freightliner Electric Innovation Fleet shared between Penske and
NFI. Affiliated brands Fuso and Mercedes-Benz trucks have already begun deliveries of the battery-electric eCanter and eActros in Asia, Europe, and North America. By the end of 2019, nearly 200 battery-electric vehicles powered by Daimler will be deployed for testing, co-creation and collaboration worldwide. “For our engineers, these early customer partners are our test drivers. We want them to test these vehicles to their extremes. We want to see the failures so we can engineer solutions,” said Nielsen. To enable rapid scale-up of thoroughly tested and validated electric vehicles, DTNA announced today that they will begin converting the Portland manufacturing plant to produce electric Freightliners. The plant lies just blocks from DTNA’s LEED Platinum headquarters. The plant renovations begin next year with series production scheduled to begin in 2021. The company’s decision to bring electric vehicle production to Portland was based on multiple factors, including Portland’s proximity to the huge demand for electric vehicles in California. In addition to production, the Portland manufacturing facility will also host a battery storage facility and an electric vehicle co-creation center, where the e-consulting team will collaborate with customers. Here they will integrate electric trucks into their fleets from order intake through the second life of the truck. The Freightliner eM2 truck is an electrified solution for local distribution, pickup and delivery, food and beverage delivery, and last-mile logistics applications. The Freightliner eCascadia is a Class 8 tractor designed for local and regional distribution and drayage. Both trucks enter series production in 2021.
TRUCKTECH+ DIAGNOSTICS OFFERED ON MEDIUMDUTY CONVENTIONAL TRUCKS
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HEAVY EQUIPMENT GUIDE
and Kenworth dealers to help optimize truck uptime and productivity and allows fleets to track the location of the Kenworth trucks. Kenworth TruckTech+ notifications include continue driving with no action required, keep driving and address the service code during the next service interval, head to a dealer for service, or pull over to prevent possible damage. If the customer needs to take the truck in for service, the system maps out the locations of the three closest repair facilities. The data is sent to a secure web
>> JUNE 2019
EV LINEUP TAKES CENTRE STAGE AT ACT EXPO Peterbilt Motors Company displayed its electric vehicle lineup recently at ACT Expo in Long Beach, California. The Peterbilt booth featured a Model 220EV, a Model 520EV and a Model 579EV. The 220EV was spec’d with the Meritor Blue Horizon eAxle first shown at CES in January, the 520EV showed off the Transpower mid-ship powertrain configuration, and the 579EV featured the new Allison AXE Series e-Axle.
Daimler Trucks president and CEO Roger Nielsen.
KENWORTH
Kenworth is adding the TruckTech+ Remote Diagnostics system as an option for its medium-duty conventional trucks. Fleets and truck operators buying new Kenworth T270, T370 (shown), T440 and T470 models – equipped with the 6.7-litre PACCAR PX-7 engine, 8.9-litre PACCAR PX-9 engine, or Cummins Westport L9N natural gas engine – will be able to order Kenworth TruckTech+ Remote Diagnostics. The system enhances vehicle diagnostics by providing real-time engine health information to fleet managers
PETERBILT
portal where the fleet manager can review the truck’s location, status, identified issue and recommended solution. If a repair is needed quickly, the data can be sent to the servicing dealer in advance so they can be prepared to work on the truck – saving customers time and money in initial diagnostics. When the truck arrives, the dealer’s service team can move quickly to remedy the problem.
“Peterbilt has invested in the integration of electric powertrains into a wide range of existing products and customer applications for development and testing,” said Peterbilt’s Chief Engineer Scott Newhouse. “Today, we have 14 electric vehicles built, on our way to more than 30 by the end of the year, for real customer routes and to analyze performance so that our production options meet the standards customers expect when buying a Peterbilt.” In addition to the Peterbilt booth display, six 579EVs were showcased at the front of the exposition centre representing some of the Peterbilt electric vehicles that are in the hands of customers.
TRP
AFTERMARKET PARTS SUPPLIER MARKS 25 YEARS TRP is celebrating 25 years of providing high-quality and reliable aftermarket parts for all makes and models of trucks, trailers and buses – 25 years of trusted aftermarket products, 25 years of reliable performance, and 25 years of proven quality. TRP was established in Europe in 1994 to meet a growing fleet demand for reliable parts that could be used with a wide variety of equipment. Today, TRP offers a vast selection of more than 125,000 parts through a global network of more than 2,200 DAF, Kenworth, Peterbilt and TRP Store retailers. The breadth of the TRP line and a robust product testing process contribute to making TRP parts the trusted, reliable and proven choice for commercial vehicle fleets of all sizes. In addition, operators and maintenance managers know that no matter where they purchase a TRP part, they have support through a global network of 2,200 retail locations and 18 parts distribution centres staffed by all-makes product and customer service specialists. The TRP brand has expanded to include a dedicated network of TRP retail stores launched in 2014. Reaching new customers and new markets, there are now more than 180 TRP store locations across 39 countries worldwide.