Electric Freightliner eCascadia Will Be Launched This Year, Beat Tesla Semi To Market

While Elon Musk is busy bickering about Twitter bot counts, Tesla continues to fall further behind competitors.

After losing the electric truck race to Ford, General Motors and Rivian, the company’s long overdue Semi will be beaten to market by Daimler Truck as the company’s Freightliner division will launch the electric eCascadia in North America later this year.

The achievement comes after a million miles (1.6 million km) of testing with actual customers, who have used prototypes to deliver everything from food to packages.

Also Read: Tesla Will Take A $20,000 Deposit For A Semi, Still No Guarantee On When You’ll Actually Get It, Though

Thanks to years of testing and development, the company says the semi is “ideally suited for short-haul routes that allow for depot-based charging.” Daimler added this makes it a good fit for last mile logistics, local and regional distribution, as well as transporting items between warehouses.

To suit a wide range of customers, the eCascadia is available with three battery packs that have capacities of 194, 291, and 438 kWh. They will enable the semi to have a “typical range” of 230 miles (370 km) depending on configuration.

Despite the massive battery packs, the eCascadia can be quickly recharged as Daimler says the 194 kWh battery can go from 0-100% in one and a half to three hours. Even the giant 438 kWh battery is said to take between two to six hours to be fully recharged. If that’s too long, the company noted certain variants can get an 80% charge in approximately 90 minutes.

Speaking of the powertrain, the eCascadia offers two different options. Single motor variants produce 320 hp (239 kW / 324 PS), while dual motor models develop 470 hp (350 kW / 477 PS).