Daimler Trucks preparing to launch the battery-electric Mercedes-Benz eEconic

Daimler Trucks is taking the next logical step in the electrification of trucks with the battery-electric low-floor truck Mercedes-Benz eEconic.

Customer testing of the eEconic for municipal use will begin in 2021.

Selected customers will test the vehicles for their everyday practicality in actual applications. The experience gained from customer testing will flow directly into series production of the eEconic, which is to start in 2022. The eEconic is based on the eActros electric truck for heavy distribution, which will already go into series production in 2021.

The eEconic will at first be offered in the configuration 6×2/N NLA and is mainly in demand as a waste-collection vehicle. Battery-electric trucks are very well suited for urban use in waste management due to the comparatively short and plannable daily routes of up to 100 kilometres with a high proportion of stop-and-go in inner-city traffic. With an anticipatory driving style, electrical energy can be recovered during braking to charge the battery, which further improves range and efficiency.

Gesa Reimelt, Head of E-Mobility Group Daimler Trucks & Buses, said: “We at Daimler Trucks & Buses want to offer all our new vehicles with CO2-neutral driving operation in our main sales regions by 2039. With our global platform strategy, we are applying uniform technologies and vehicle architectures also for electric vehicles worldwide, and can accelerate development enormously through synergies. The eEconic is based on our eActros, which is already in intensive practical use and will go into series production in 2021.”

Dr. Ralf Forcher, Head of Marketing, Sales and Service, Mercedes-Benz Special Trucks, said: “The eEconic is a major milestone for the sustainable organisation of municipal logistics. Thanks to its application profile, the vehicle is ideally suited for electrification due to its application profile, for example in waste collection with stop-and-go traffic and plannable daily tours. It combines two important features, especially for use in urban areas: It is locally emission-free and very quiet.”

Solely due to its vehicle concept, the Mercedes-Benz eEconic represents a responsible approach to the environment, especially in urban use. Its electric drive produces no local emissions and above all is quiet, characteristics that have a positive effect on the quality of life of residents and of the vehicle crew. The low-positioned “DirectVision cab” with a panoramic windscreen and glazed passenger door gives the driver direct visual contact with vulnerable road users such as cyclists and pedestrians - a crucial safety criterion in road traffic.

The driver is supported by a large number of intelligent safety-assistance systems such as Sideguard Assist. Driver and crew get in and out of the vehicle using only two steps on the side facing away from traffic. This makes exiting the cab safe and helps to avoid accidents. The comfortable standing height in the interior also facilitates access.

The Mercedes-Benz eActros heavy-duty truck with a range of approximately 200 kilometres is in intensive use with customers in Germany and Switzerland; the first customer handover took place in 2018. In the United States, the medium-duty Freightliner eM2 and the heavy-duty Freightliner eCascadia are also currently undergoing practical tests with customers. More than 140 FUSO eCanter light-duty trucks are already in use with customer in cities worldwide, including New York City, Tokyo, Berlin, London, Amsterdam, Paris and Lisbon.

Since 2018, the E-Mobility Group has been pooling the worldwide expertise of Daimler Trucks & Buses in the field of e-mobility and defining the strategy for electric components and products across brands and segments. The E-Mobility Group is developing a globally uniform electric architecture - analogous to the global platform strategy for conventional vehicles. In this way, synergies can be fully utilised and investments can be optimally deployed.

At the same time, the E-Mobility Group offers comprehensive consulting for customers and focuses on the entire ecosystem with the goal to make e-mobility economically feasible also in terms of TCO (Total Cost of Ownership). The E-Mobility Group is set up globally with employees working in various locations throughout the company's worldwide development network, i.e. in Portland (United States), Stuttgart (Germany) and Kawasaki (Japan).