The German automaker opted to grow its Portland footprint after considering two other sites.
Daimler Truck North America announced last week it will bolster its electric truck manufacturing operations in Oregon with the construction of a $40 million engineering facility and a $3 million training center at its Swan Island headquarters.
The automaker had considered two other sites in the greater Portland area but ultimately decided to expand on Swan Island to aid in collaboration, a Daimler rep tells Oregon Business. The engineering facility will begin construction in the third quarter of this year and is expected to open in 2025. The Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment training center is expected to open in 2026, according to a statement from DTNA spokeswoman Whitney Anderson.
Daimler announced plans for a fully electric truck in 2019, and unveiled a prototype for the eCascadia electric truck — which has a range of about 230 miles, making it most suitable for short- and medium-range shippers — in 2022. By the beginning of last year, sales of the truck had fallen short of expectations, though the company did have larger orders from companies like UPS and Sysco.
Company reps told the Portland City Council last summer the expansion project will bring 150 high-wage jobs to the area. In August, the council granted Daimler an enterprise zone tax-break exemption and a $1.5 million grant for the training facility.
The engineering facility received a $700,000 state grant, one condition of which is maintaining the current employee headcount in Portland. DTNA employs around 3,000 people in the Portland area. The 110,000-square-foot engineering facility will house multiple research projects under one roof, according to The Oregonian. These include the development of battery electric and hydrogen fueled vehicles.
In 1981, the German company purchased Freightliner, a Portland-based manufacturer of heavy duty trucks, which spun off from Daimler Trucks AG, the world’s largest manufacturer of commercial vehicles, in 2021.
In 2016, Daimler opened a $150-million regional headquarters that received $20 million in tax incentives. In the years since, the facility has become a hub for electric vehicle research.
The company also operates its High Desert Proving Ground facility for new technologies in Madras. The 249-acre facility features 3.5 miles of test track and 14 types of road conditions for testing various technologies including autonomous operation, The Bulletin reports. The track facility is intended to help simulate a vehicle’s entire eight-year life cycle in only six months. The test track is also located in an enterprise zone — one of 74 in the state — that offers tax incentives for companies that bring jobs to an area.
Autonomous driving is thought to be potential boon for companies facing low job retention among commercial drivers, especially long-haul commercial drivers. But lately some tech companies have scaled back ambitions to develop driverless freight trucks.
The trucking industry in Oregon is affected by a labor shortage, though not as acutely as other industries, according to the latest Oregon Talent Assessment. Job reskilling on technologies like route optimization and lane-assisted driving can aid in hiring, according to the assessment, which was developed by the state in partnership with consultancy ECONorthwest. Trucking employers report the top challenge with job reskilling is motivating employees to participate in training programs, followed by balancing training needs with current business operations.
