Hub Group Begins Electric Truck Fleet Pilot

Freightliner eCascadia
A Freightliner eCascadia on display at CES in 2019 (Dan Ronan/Transport Topics)

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Hub Group began its electric truck fleet pilot as part of an objective to deploy commercial electric vehicles in real-world applications, the company announced April 23.

Daimler Trucks North America started the initiative to engage customers in the commercial electric vehicle development process with its Freightliner eCascadia series of trucks. Hub Group will operate the truck seven days a week over six months in Southern California.

“This test is an exciting next step in our innovation and sustainability journey,” Hub Group President Phil Yeager said in a statement. “It is part of Hub Group’s long-term strategy to bring to market innovation that has a meaningful impact on our customers’ businesses and reduce the supply chain’s impact on the environment.”



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Yeager

The Freightliner’s Customer Experience Fleet pilot involves customers from a range of sectors over 22 months. They are tasked with operating the all-electric trucks within their daily transport business. The initiative is partially funded by the South Coast Air Quality Management District.

“It’s critical that we collaborate with customers across multiple segments to further our understanding of how commercial battery-electric trucks will be part of a long-term solution in CO2-neutral transportation,” Richard Howard, Daimler senior vice president of on-highway sales and marketing, said in a statement. “Our customers provide important, continuous feedback that contributes to our ongoing design and purposeful innovation of these trucks, and together we will lead the future.”

Hub Group will be using the truck across a variety of freight environments and conditions in dedicated and drayage freight operations. Company engineers will analyze performance across multiple data points including range, payload, traffic conditions, charging scenarios, maintenance and safety.

Hub Group ranks No. 12 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest for-hire carriers in North America. — Transport Topics

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