PORTLAND, Ore. – April 23, 2021 – In time for Earth Week, Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) celebrated several milestones on the road to electric including a visit from Vice President Kamala Harris to the Thomas Built Buses (TBB) production plant in High Point, North Carolina, the inauguration of Electric Island in Portland, and the continuation of the Freightliner Electric Roadshow.
Vice President Harris’ visit highlighted the usability and value of electric school buses. She met with John O’Leary, president and CEO, DTNA, as well as several TBB employees who outlined the benefits of electric buses and demonstrated the technology and ingenuity behind commercial electric vehicle manufacturing.
“Welcoming Vice President Harris to Thomas Built Buses was an honor and a privilege,” said O’Leary. “It’s exciting to see our electric vehicles recognized by the administration, and to have her visit take place the same week we inaugurate the first public electric vehicle charging station specifically designed for commercial vehicles, and as we continued showcasing the all-electric Freightliner eCascadia and eM2 for customers with our innovative roadshow.”
TBB’s Saf-T-Liner C2 Jouley runs tail-pipe emissions free, noise-pollution free and has a 135-mile operating range. With nearly 50 Jouleys already delivered, school districts across the country, from Alaska to Virginia have already incorporated electric school buses in their daily operations.
The same week and a day before Earth Day, Electric Island, the first-of-its-kind charging station specifically designed with medium- and heavy-duty vehicles in mind and open to the public, celebrated its grand opening. Available to electric commercial vehicles and passenger cars alike, the station is the first one aligned to the blueprint of the West Coast Clean Transit Corridor Initiative (WCCTCI). The grand opening event featured TBB’s Jouley, an electric city bus, and Freightliner’s eCascadia and eM2.
In addition to the nearly 40 trucks in the hands of customers through the Freightliner Electric Innovation and Customer Experience Fleets, which have thus far accumulated more than 750,000 miles of real-world use, both a Freightliner eM2 and an eCascadia are currently making their way down the West Coast to afford customers from Seattle to Los Angeles an opportunity to see and experience the new electric trucks.
Freightliner recently opened ordering for the eCascadia and eM2 which will begin production in late 2022. At the start of series production, the eCascadia will feature a 250 mile range and max gross combined weight (GCW) of 82,000 lbs.
About Daimler Trucks North America
Daimler Trucks North America LLC, headquartered in Portland, Ore., is the leading heavy-duty truck manufacturer in North America. It manufactures, sells, and services commercial vehicles under the Freightliner, Western Star, Detroit, and Thomas Built Buses nameplates. Daimler Trucks North America is a Daimler company.
