Two all-electric semitrucks will be joining meijer’s 250-truck fleet.
The Midwest retail giant received the pair of Freightliner eCascadia semitrucks earlier this month. The trucks will operate out of its Lansing Distribution Center, making multiple, daily deliveries to Meijer supercenters within a 200-mile range.
Meijer celebrated the trucks' inaugural delivery today with a more than 44,000-pound food donation to Gleaners Community Food Bank in Detroit alongside Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, and representatives from Meijer and Daimler Truck North America.
"Our company's earliest beginnings were marked by doing what's right while keeping an eye toward innovation. That philosophy still guides us today and is exemplified by our company's commitment to lessening our carbon footprint," Meijer President & CEO Rick Keyes said. "We're excited to continue our longstanding partnership with Freightliner to pave a sustainable future for the industry."
Meijer became a test fleet for Freightliner in 2009 and was selected in 2019 to test the manufacturer's battery electric semitrucks. Now the latest eCascadia trucks are ready for rollout. Boasting zero emissions, the truck is ideally suited for short-haul routes that allow for depot-based charging.
Meijer’s vehicles were partially funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy's Vehicle Technologies Office geared toward the demonstration of battery electric commercial trucks under diverse climate conditions. Meijer will be the first retailer nationwide to track the performance of these semitrucks in a cold weather environment, monitoring daily for temperature impact on mileage, charge times, battery life optimization and driver comfort.
"Through this partnership, we can help accelerate the industry's transformation to electrification by applying valuable insights from data collected and real-world applications in a cold climate environment and make a meaningful difference when it comes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions," said Mike Graham, Senior Vice President of Supply Chain and Manufacturing for Meijer. "We're pleased to work with Freightliner to further put the eCascadia tractors into real-world applications outside of southern California as we look for solutions to achieve zero emissions."
Detroit, the industry-leading manufacturer of engines, axles and transmissions, is the power behind the eCascadia. While the eCascadia is built in Portland, Ore., the in-house developed Detroit ePowertrain is designed for a full integration with the eCascadia in DTNA's Detroit manufacturing facility located in Detroit. Last year, the company announced plans for a $20 million investment in the Detroit manufacturing facility to serve as the North American source of Detroit ePowertrain components.
