Daimler Trucks and Buses is celebrating another milestone on the road to the electrification of its vehicle portfolio. Customers worldwide have already covered more than seven million kilometers with battery-powered, locally CO2-neutral trucks and buses.
Positive customer feedback and findings from intensive practical tests with electric trucks from Mercedes-Benz, FUSO and Freightliner show that the electrification of road freight transport is already feasible today. In addition, the electric city bus Mercedes-Benz eCitaro is already in series production since 2018 and in customer use in various European cities.
As part of its electrification strategy, Daimler Trucks plans to offer electric vehicles in all its main sales regions by 2022: from the FUSO eCanter in the light-duty segment, the Freightliner eM2 in the medium-duty segment, and the Mercedes-Benz eActros and the Freightliner eCascadia in the heavy-duty segment.
Martin Daum, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler Truck AG and Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG, said: “As one of the world’s largest commercial vehicle manufacturers, we have the ambition to be the innovation and technology leader also with alternative drive systems. For example, our locally CO2-neutral city bus eCitaro has been in series production since 2018 and electrifies public transport in many cities. With our electric trucks, we aim to offer our customers electric vehicles that are on a par with conventional trucks in terms of availability and performance as well.
“This motivated us to place electric trucks in the hands of customers at an early stage. Thanks to our global presence, customers all over the world are testing various vehicle concepts in diverse practical applications. This represents a strong competitive advantage. Thanks to the close dialog with our customers and the many test kilometers we have covered, important findings have been flowing directly into the series development of our electric trucks for several years now.”
Mercedes-Benz Trucks was the world’s first manufacturer to present a heavy-duty electric truck at the IAA Commercial Vehicles Show in 2016. With the all-electric eActros truck, Mercedes-Benz Trucks is demonstrating that heavy-duty distribution transport for urban areas can already be locally emission-free. The eActros, which has a range of approximately 200 kilometers, has been proving its worth as a locally CO2-neutral alternative for urban distribution transport in a wide range of practical applications with various customers in Europe since 2018. Series production is scheduled to start in 2021.
The first practical applications of the Mercedes-Benz eEconic low-floor truck, which is based on the eActros, were announced in 2020 and are planned for next year. Series production is scheduled to start in 2022. The eEconic is mainly used as a waste-collection vehicle in urban waste-management. This is very suitable for battery-electric trucks due to the comparatively short and planned routes of about 100 km with a very high proportion of stop-and-go operation.
Keyword: Daimler’s Electric Trucks and Buses Surpass 7 million km Around the World