Freightliner, Proterra to Develop Production-Ready MT50e Model

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Freightliner Custom Chassis Corp., a unit of Daimler Trucks North America, announced it partnered with Proterra to develop a production-ready version in 2020 of Freightliner’s all-electric MT50e truck chassis. It is intended as a zero-emissions last-mile delivery vehicle.

The MT50e battery system from California-based Proterra will feature 226 kWh of energy capacity and an all-electric, zero-emissions drive system. It will have a gross vehicle weight rating of 16,000 to 23,000 pounds — putting it in the Classes 5-6 segments.

The vehicle is designed with a range of about 125 miles and can fully charge in about three hours with direct current fast charging, according to Gaffney, S.C.-based FCCC.



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Launched as a prototype at the 2019 Work Truck Show, the MT50e is the first of several planned commercial electric vehicles from FCCC for use in a variety of applications.

“Fleet operators are looking to electrify delivery trucks today, and there is growing industry interest in a high-performance electric chassis with an energy-dense battery system,” Proterra CEO Ryan Popple said. — Transport Topics

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