Schneider soon will begin taking delivery of nearly 100 Class 8 battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) for its intermodal operations in Southern California. The Wisconsin-based trucking company’s first Freightliner eCascadia will roll off the assembly line at Daimler Truck North America’s manufacturing plant in Portland, Oregon.
The carrier had previously reported orders for 62 eCascadias. Now it plans to deploy an additional 30 BEVs sourced from DTNA. As a result, Schneider says it will have one of the largest electric fleets in North America, marking a critical step in the company’s efforts to operationalize zero-emission vehicles in its truck fleet.
Schneider expects all 92 BEVs to be operational by the end of 2023.
“The integration of nearly 100 zero-emission vehicles is an important milestone for Schneider as we are moving beyond the battery-electric truck testing phase to running an operation at scale,” said Schneider President and CEO Mark Rourke. “In combination with rail movement, we can offer our intermodal customers meaningful emissions reduction value by utilizing BEV drayage trucks.”
Battery-electric trucks are part of Schneider’s plan to meet its sustainability goals of reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) per-mile emissions by 7.5% by 2025 and 60% by 2035. Schneider says it has already achieved more than half of its 2025 goal by reducing per-mile emissions by 5%. Battery-electric trucks will help further meet these goals.
The new eCascadias have the potential to avoid more than 81,000 pounds of CO2 emissions per day, which is equivalent to removing 2,400 gas-powered cars from the road per year.
Schneider is already familiar with electric vehicle technology, having piloted an eCascadia for six months through Freightliner’s Customer Experience fleet. Drivers who tested the eCascadia enjoyed driving the truck, the carrier reported.
“As the leading heavy-duty truck manufacturer, we are fully committed to reduce emissions with our vehicles and to move the commercial transportation industry into a more sustainable future,” said David Carson, DTNA senior vice president of sales and marketing. “We are proud to share the same vision with Schneider and to partner closely with them on integrating eCascadias into their fleet.”