Daimler Trucks to invest $40 million in Portland engineering center

Daimler Truck North America (DTNA) announced plans to invest more than $40 million in a new electric vehicle engineering facility at its Swan Island headquarters in Portland.

Daimler says its new, 110,000-square-foot engineering facility will bring together multiple research projects in one place, including battery electric and hydrogen-fuel cell electric vehicles. The investment is expected to add about 150 new, “high-wage” jobs to the area.

“Daimler Truck North America is proud to call Portland, Oregon our home,” said John O’Leary, president and CEO, DTNA. “We appreciate the City and State’s support of our expansion plans to further promote the development and proper testing of advanced technology and look forward to collaborating for many more years to come on training and employing a future-ready workforce.”

The new addition to DTNA’s “Electric Island” will accelerate the testing and development of charging equipment for commercial vehicles since a first-of-its-kind charging station for electric trucks was built in partnership with Portland General Electric (PGE) in 2021.

Daimler will also spend $3 million on a new Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE) training center built adjacent to Electric Island that will be used for the DTNA dealer network and as a resource center for community stakeholders interested in the clean transportation industry. $1.5 of the $3 million will be funded through a forgivable loan from Prosper Portland, the city’s economic development agency.

Daimler’s has been part of City of Portland since the founding of the Freightliner brand in the city in 1942. Daimler acquired Freightliner in 1981, and established its North American trucks headquarters in Portland.

Elektrek’s Take

Trucks in North America are different from the trucks that roll across Europe and Asia, so it makes sense to invest more heavily into a dedicated North American engineering facility to build trucks that American drivers want.

Here’s hoping Daimler doesn’t spend too much of that money on hydrogen, though. That’s not the tech that’s gonna win.

SOURCE | IMAGES: Daimler, The Oregonian.