The Daimler Truck North America LLC (DTNA) division in Mexico delivered the first of two battery electric Freightliner eCascadias manufactured in Portland, Oregon, to customer, Transportes Esteban, a leader in the cargo transportation industry with 22 years of experience. The electric Class 8 truck will be running in day-to-day plant operations in Daimler Truck Mexico’s truck manufacturing plant (TMP) in Santiago.
At the same time, the truck manufacturing plant in Santiago also became the official location of the second commercial vehicle charging facility in Mexico, specifically designed to support electric charging of heavy-duty trucks. Drawing from experience at DTNA headquarters in Portland, where the first-of-its-kind “Electric Island” has been established in 2021, DTNA’s Mexican branch continues to maintain the focus on customers’ needs and requests.
Marcela Barreiro, president & CEO of Daimler Truck Mexico, “Today we are celebrating a historic moment in which we take a look at the future of Daimler Truck mobility with two great events: the start of operations of the first all-electric Freightliner unit in Mexico with Transportes Esteban which, in addition to betting on the product of our brand, is also a fundamental piece in Santiago TMP’s operations, as well as the inauguration of the second Electric Island in Mexico, now at Daimler Truck Santiago TMP, through which we will continue to promote the development and implementation of new technologies.”
The second “Electric Island” charging station, installed within the Daimler Truck Santiago TMP, is designated for use by the Freightliner eCascadia as it becomes an integral part of the plant’s daily logistics operations. This investment is part of a comprehensive project to reduce the plant’s emissions while utilizing DTNA’s advanced technology.
The installation of the second “Electric Island” includes a Detroit eFill charger with a charging capacity of up to 120kW, capable of charging up to 80% of the eCascadia’s battery capacity in 220 minutes. Detroit eFill chargers work with management software for intelligent charging, optimizing energy consumption and integrating vehicle information, stations, and the charging process through a telematics platform.
Since its start of production in 2022, the battery-electric Freightliner eCascadia has been delivered to over 50 fleets in North America and covered more than 3.5 million electric miles in real world customer applications as of today.
With this and other deliveries planned for the future, Daimler Truck Mexico takes an important step in the transition to zero-emission mobility and reaffirms its commitment to leading the sustainable transformation.
