Penkse Truck opens 14 fast-chargers for e-trucks in California

Penske Truck Leasing has opened what it considers to be the “first DC fast-charging stations in the US designed specifically for heavy-duty commercial electric vehicles”. The first 14 rapid chargers stand at four of Penske’s facilities in Southern California.

The company’s near term plan includes adding at least six more charging stations, bringing the total number of chargers in the USA to 20. These will then charge electric trucks, such as Daimler’s Freightliners. Penske Trucks is one of Daimler’s early partners for trials with the new EVs in the US reportedly.

The corresponding charging stations will be installed at Penske Truck Leasing facilities in San Diego, Chino, Anaheim and La Mirada, allowing for charging between 50 and 150 kW. The rollout of charging infrastructure for electric utility vehicles will not stop there, however, as Andrew Cullen, senior vice president of fuels and facilities at Penske Truck Leasing, explains: “We’ll continue to add new locations and charging infrastructure to support our customers as our electric fleet continues to grow and the demand for commercial electric vehicles gains momentum.”

It appears the company is working with Siemens for the charging infrastructure. It is also known that Daimler has teamed up with ChargePoint in Germany. Also in the States, Daimler Trucks counts among the network operators leading investors reportedly.

When it comes to the competition, Volvo Trucks has teamed up with Greenlots as part of the previously reported broader introduction of electric trucks in North America. ABB is on board as well to help set up charging infrastructure for heavy-duty commercial vehicles in warehouse facilities in southern California. The project is among the first to use the latest SAE J3068 charging standard for heavy utility vehicles in real-world tests. It resembles the European norm IEC 62196 for Level 2 or CCS charging (we reported).

gopenske.com, thetrucker.com, engadget.com

This article has been updated to state that Penske is likely working with Siemens for charging equipment. Additional reporting by Nora Manthey.