ATLANTA, Ga. – Freightliner has taken orders for 25,000 new Cascadia models in about a year, something that took three years to achieve with the truck’s predecessor, the classic Cascadia.

Richard Howard, senior vice-president of sales and marketing with Daimler Trucks North America, said fleets have realized the promised 8% fuel economy improvement over the previous Cascadia, and some have bettered that.

“They love the new Cascadia. They particularly like the fuel efficiency,” said Howard, during remarks at the North American Commercial Vehicle show. He also noted 95% of them are being ordered with the Detroit DT12 automated manual transmission. The company announced new options for the Cascadia at the show.

These include a new mid-roof cab configuration for regional overnight haulers, and bulk and flatdeck transporters. Options include 48-, 60-, and 72-inch mid-roof sleepers in 116- and 126-inch BBC configurations. Orders are being taken now, with delivery available in January 2018.

“The addition of the mid-roof configuration allows more customers in different applications to experience the benefits of the new Cascadia,” said Mike McHorse, manager, on-highway product marketing, Freightliner Trucks. “Since the new Cascadia debuted in September 2016, it has earned praise as the most productive, efficient and driver-friendly truck Freightliner has ever offered to the industry.”

Freightliner also announced a new Hendrickson Optimaax 6×2 liftable forward tandem axle, available exclusively on the new Cascadia. It’ll be available in the second quarter of 2018, but Canadian buyers should check local regulations, as 6×2 axles are not widely permitted.