Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
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26 commercial carrier journal | april 2018 SP13062_GATS2018_third.indd 1 3/20/18 1:01 PM Fuso Truck and Bus Corp. and the Mercedes-Benz eActros battery-electric trucks as recent examples. Nielsen said the timeline for bat- tery-electric vehicle configurations for the North American heavy-duty truck market are in-step with Daim- ler's global efforts, but he cautioned the road to widespread adoption of electric powertrains is still a long way from reality. "When we introduced the origi- nal Cascadia 10 years ago, we put 24 million miles on the road before we introduced it," he said. "We will not do anything different with electric vehicles. It's critical that from the very beginning that the new tech- nology positively contributes to cus- tomers' real cost of ownership." On autonomous vehicles, Nielsen said DTNA's efforts to make automated driving a reality are in-step with develop- ment of the compa- ny's advanced driver assistance systems, many of which are part of the Detroit Assurance safety system. In 2017, 66 percent of new Cascadias were delivered with Detroit Assurance, and Nielsen said future improvements to the camera and radar systems will enable enhanced adaptive cruise control and lane-keep assist features. DTNA is leveraging ADAS tech- nologies to develop its platooning solution, currently undergoing ex- tensive safety testing. e company is finalizing details with a fleet customer to begin testing of platooning-enabled Freightliner trucks in real-world applications, "using the fleet's drivers and trailers to haul real freight for real shippers," said Nielsen. Growing PDC network Aer opening a parts and distribution center in Indianapolis in 2017, DTNA recently opened its ninth PDC in Des Moines, Iowa, and plans to open a 10th in the Western U.S. region in the near future. More than 80 percent of DTNA's dealers now are within 350 miles of a PDC and can place parts orders at 4 p.m. and receive the parts from the PDC by 7 a.m. the following morning. "ose dealers that are closer are able now to get same-day delivery," said Niel- sen. "Our goal is once we get a truck into the service bay to not move it out until it is completely repaired." Nielsen said DTNA's Alliance Truck Parts division has increased its parts product lines by more than 50 per- cent and that the com- pany will be opening Alliance Truck Parts retail stores through- out the country. "It is a key element to expanding the availability of our parts in the aermarket," he said. DTNA also is extending its e-com- merce parts and distribution network into further segments with its Pinnacle Truck Parts website. "We understand e-commerce also is an important part of our parts and distribution capa- bilities," said Nielsen. "Working with our physical parts and distribution network as well as our dealer locations and distributors in combination with e-commerce gives us ample opportu- nities to give our customers choices as they procure parts." – Jeff Crissey Roger Nielsen, DTNA president and CEO, said widespread adoption of battery-electric vehicles for the North American heavy-duty truck market will happen only when they posi- tively contribute to customers' real cost of ownership.