WASHINGTON, DC. Penske Truck Leasing has ordered 100 compressed natural gas (CNG) Freightliner Cascadia tractors powered by the Cummins Westport 12L engine. Seventy-five are slated to go into service with an unidentified-for-now full-service leasing customer, according to Andrew E. Cullen, vice president of energy and telecommunications services. The remainder will be placed at various locations throughout the U.S. for use by leasing and rental customers looking to explore use of the alternative fuel, he said during the Alternative Clean Transportation (ACT) Expo.
The 100 CNG Cascadias are a mix of single and tandem axle tractors with day cabs spec’d for regional applications, Cullen said. They join a wide range of alternative fuel trucks in the Penske fleets, including light, medium and heavy-duty vehicles running on propane, LNG and plug-in electric power, he told Fleet Owner.
“Many full-service truck leasing customers continue to evaluate using natural gas vehicles within their truck fleets while others are quickly adopting the use of NGVs to meet their sustainability goals,” said Penske Truck Leasing’s Art Vallely, executive vice president of operations. “We’re encouraged by the interest we are seeing from customers with regard to NGVs and we are fully capable of assisting any fleet with their natural gas powered truck needs.”
Penske estimates that before the year’s end it will have more than 200 natural gas tractors within its fleet for use by its full-service truck leasing customers and commercial truck rental customers.
Penske Truck Leasing offers fleet operators considering natural gas trucks vehicle specification expertise, lease financing, grant application assistance, a nationwide network of maintenance facilities, and more than two decades of experience maintaining fleets of commercial natural gas vehicles.
