IAA Transportation 2024: Daimler Truck puts the focus on CO2-neutral long-distance haulage – start of series production of the Mercedes-Benz eActros 600 in November

Leinfelden-Echterdingen / Hanover – Daimler Truck, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of commercial vehicles, presented its path to sustainable transportation on Sunday, in anticipation of the IAA Transportation 2024 trade show in Hanover. The company’s focus was placed on the topics of decarbonization and digitalization. Daimler Truck’s display features the battery-electric Mercedes-Benz eActros 600 truck as its trade fair highlight. With its new e-flagship, the manufacturer intends to decarbonize long-distance haulage, which is responsible for two thirds and thus the largest part of CO2 emissions in truck traffic. The high battery capacity of more than 600 kilowatt hours[1] and a new, particularly efficient electric drive axle developed in-house enable the eActros 600 to achieve a range of 500 kilometers[2] without intermediate charging. This range is achieved under very realistic conditions reflecting standard usage with 40 tons gross combination mass; this figure may also be significantly exceeded depending on driving style and the route involved. The eActros 600 will be able to travel much further than 1,000 kilometers per day. This is made possible by intermediate charging during the legally prescribed driver breaks – even without megawatt-charging - provided the charging facilities are available.

This summer, two near-series production prototypes participated in an almost seven-week test run to demonstrate the operational performance of the eActros 600, traveling more than 15,000 kilometers through 22 European countries. It was the most extensive test run in the history of Mercedes-Benz Trucks. Each of the two e-trucks traveled with a 40-ton gross combination mass and used public charging stations exclusively to charge. The vehicles successfully demonstrated the high energy efficiency of the eActros 600 throughout the tour: Over the entire duration of the trip, the prototype equipped with special equipment to measure consumption was able to achieve an average driving consumption of 103 kilowatt hours per 100 kilometers.[3] Calculating the energy content of Diesel, this would translate into a consumption of around 10 liters per 100 kilometers, which would have been impossible to achieve with a conventionally powered truck. On numerous daily stages of the tour, it would have even been theoretically possible to achieve ranges of more than 600 kilometers without intermediate charging. On average, it was possible to cover with recuperated energy around 25 percent of the eActros 600’s drive power consumed.

Depending in particular on the route, topography and temperature, daily consumption ranged between 85 kilowatt hours per 100 kilometers - during the downhill trek from Madrid to Bilbao (approx. 360 kilometers) under very good road and weather conditions - and 140 kilowatt hours per 100 kilometers from Alta to the North Cape (approx. 240 kilometers) with a lowest temperature of 7 degrees Celsius some of which consisted of unpaved roads. Along the journey, some 30 journalists from 20 European countries, most of the time behind the wheel, put the operational performance of the other prototype to the test – not only with regard to consumption but also, for example, in terms of handling dynamics. Even with this vehicle, the consumption was only around 6 percent higher on average. This means that the stated range of 500 kilometers with one battery charge proved to be a realistic planning factor over the course of the trip. 

Daimler Truck is celebrating the start of series production of the eActros 600 at the end of this November at the Mercedes-Benz Wörth plant. The first customer vehicles of the eActros 600 are due to be produced and registered before the end of 2024. Also, the Mannheim, Kassel and Gaggenau Daimler Truck plants play an important role here. They supply the components required for the battery-electric drive of the eActros 600, such as the electric axle, transmission components and the front box, which combines numerous high-voltage and low-voltage components and is located in the former installation space of the combustion engine.

Martin Daum, CEO Daimler Truck: “We already presented our vision for the sustainable transportation of the future years ago. For us, the IAA Transportation 2024 clearly revolves around implementation of that vision. We are supplying battery-electric series vehicles in the quantities required by our customers.” 

As part of Sunday’s “Daimler Truck Media Night” in Hanover, the eActros 600 went on a nocturnal round trip to Berlin and back. Firstly, to give a live demonstration of its everyday life usability and, secondly, to send a message to political decision-makers not only in Berlin, but also in Brussels: Daimler Truck's zero-emission vehicles are ready, now the charging infrastructure must follow. 

Karin Rådström: “Our eActros 600 is a strong alternative to a diesel truck, thanks to its range of 500 kilometers on one battery charge. With its high energy efficiency, it will be profitable for fleet operators. Now it is imperative for governments, the energy sector and industry to act together to drive forward the expansion of public charging infrastructure.” 

Since sales began at the end of last year, Daimler Truck already recorded 2,000 orders for the eActros 600 and there are also letters of intent totaling a four-digit figure. 

To make e-mobility simple and profitable for its customers beyond the purchase of electric trucks, Daimler Truck is launching the new TruckCharge brand in Europe to coincide with the start of the IAA. This name brings together the company’s offerings relating to e-infrastructure and the charging of electric trucks, i.e. consulting and infrastructure as well as the operation of electrified depots for transport companies and industrial companies. Part of the offer includes Fleetboard Charge Management, which provides a holistic overview of all interactions between the battery-electric trucks in the fleet and the company's own charging stations, the Charging Card, which allows cashless charging on the go, and the financing of the charging infrastructure. 

The IAA stand of Mercedes-Benz Trucks and FUSO is located in hall 19/20. Co- and self-drive opportunities start at the stand and some of the rides will take place in the outdoor area of the fairground and on public roads. Further IAA highlights from Daimler Truck include the FUSO Next Generation eCanter as fully electric waste collection vehicle, the Mercedes-Benz GenH2 Truck with hydrogen-powered fuel cell, the new Mercedes-Benz Actros L with improved aerodynamics as a trade fair premiere, the new battery-electric Mercedes-Benz eCitaro K city bus with a shorter wheelbase as a world premiere and the new Mercedes-Benz Tourismo Safety Coach as a public premiere. Another focal point of the Daimler Truck Media Night was the anticipated quantum leap from digitalization – keyword: “software-defined vehicle” – which will be the next technology revolution for the manufacturer. 

The joint appearance of Martin Daum and Karin Rådström at the Daimler Truck Media Night is of particular significance. As the company announced at the beginning of September, the Supervisory Board of Daimler Truck Holding AG has appointed Karin Rådström as the new Chief Executive Officer of the company effective October 1, 2024, and she is appointed in this function until January 31, 2029. She will succeed Martin Daum who will simultaneously resign as CEO paving the way for the next chapter of the company’s transformation. Martin Daum will remain as full member of the Board of Management until December 31, 2024, to support a smooth handover. For the time being, Karin Rådström will remain responsible for Mercedes-Benz Trucks until her succession will be decided.

Daimler Truck provides outlook on software-defined vehicles

Alongside decarbonization of transportation, Daimler Truck intends to also take a leading role in the digital transformation and is setting its sights further into the future towards software-defined commercial vehicles. The latest truck-generation, such as the eActros 600 and the Actros L, is already equipped with an evolutionarily improved mechatronics architecture. It enables data processing that is up to 20 times faster than before. In addition to enhanced functions of the latest safety systems such as Active Brake Assist 6 or Active Sideguard Assist 2, it also enables improved driver comfort and connectivity. This includes the Multimedia Cockpit Interactive 2 or the Connected Traffic Warnings function, which can detect hazard warnings and forward them to vehicles in the immediate vicinity. In the future, it will be possible to activate many of these functions “over-the-air” in the truck itself – i.e. without a workshop visit. To fully leverage the power of software and achieve a possible quantum leap, it will be necessary to reduce the number of decentralized control units with their different operating systems and to redefine the mechatronic architecture entirely. To this end, Andreas Gorbach, Member of the Board of Management responsible for Truck Technology Daimler Truck, presented at the Daimler Truck IAA Media Night the corporate vision for highly intelligent software-defined vehicles with a time horizon of around ten years. This upcoming technology revolution at Daimler Truck is set to be implemented across the company’s vehicle brands and drive technologies. 

Andreas Gorbach: “The future of trucking is emission-free and software-based. That is why we are re-defining our vehicle architecture and intend to develop an industry standard together with Volvo Group: a lean and high-performing architecture with a dedicated operating system. This will enable us to lay the foundation for software-defined commercial vehicles that may offer our customers an unprecedented level of safety, comfort and efficiency. After many evolutionary steps, we are about to take a revolutionary leap forward– and write the code for the future of trucking.”

Software-defined vehicles with customized applications from both Daimler Truck, and customers and third-party providers are envisioned to extend far beyond today’s truck and bus functionalities – in particular relating to safety, comfort and efficiency. For example, it is conceivable for the vehicle to provide even better protection for the driver and other road users by recognizing hazards long before human senses are able to. Furthermore, the truck of the future might take on administrative and documentation tasks by, for example, automatically transmitting the freight and delivery papers in digital form or reserving a parking space along with a charging station and a shower slot as well as pre-ordering the driver’s favorite meal. It is also conceivable, for example, for corresponding applications to convey the drivers in virtual form back to the dining table at home in the evening during their rest periods, even if they are physically still in the truck cab. The software-defined truck might become an active business partner for logistics companies, as high-performance computing power makes it possible for large amounts of data – such as topography, traffic or current electricity and hydrogen prices along a route – to be analyzed in real time and optimized “over the air” in the vehicle on a continuous basis. This can make the operation of the vehicles even more efficient and thus the business of our customers even more successful on an ongoing basis. 

It is anticipated that the planned joint venture between Daimler Truck and Volvo Group will form the basis for this vision. The objective is to jointly develop a standardized software-defined vehicle platform as an industry standard for commercial vehicles and therefore potentially also for other partners and customers. Specifically, the joint venture is to be tasked with specifying and procuring the central, powerful computing units that will be built into the vehicles in the future and will be able to process large quantities of data. In addition, the joint venture is intended to develop the operating system and programming platform on the basis of which Daimler Truck and Volvo Group will be able to develop their separate differentiating customer applications. Furthermore, software and hardware development cycles will be decoupled from each other in the future which will also make it possible for customers to buy additional digital offerings and implement updates “over the air” even after the vehicle has been purchased. This means the vehicles will remain up-to-date for a long time. 

FUSO Next Generation eCanter: Range of all-electric variants around the world

The all-electric Next Generation eCanter from FUSO will be presented in various body variants at the IAA in Hanover. As a waste collection vehicle with a permissible gross vehicle weight of 8.55 tons, the Next Generation eCanter has a body from KAOUSSIS with an automated container lifting and shaking device, an integrated container rinsing system and a drum capacity of 4 m3. The rotating drum compacts the waste by up to three-quarters of its original volume. With a wheelbase of only 3,400 mm and a short body overhang, the CO2-neutral light truck is particularly agile and easy to maneuver – ideal for inner-city application. FUSO will also be exhibiting another Next Generation eCanter with 8.55 tons and a 4,450 mm wheelbase with box body and the latest safety and comfort features at the IAA booth. These include Active Brake Assist 6, the Blind Spot Information System (BSIS), the Intelligent Speed Assistant and Attention Assist. Visitors to the exhibition stand in Hanover can experience further variants of the electric light truck at the Driving Experience put on by the Mercedes-Benz and FUSO brands.

Karl Deppen, Member of the Board of Daimler Truck and responsible for Daimler Truck Asia: “As a pioneer of E-mobility, the FUSO eCanter has in the meantime become a proven all-rounder in local CO2-neutral transportation. Currently available in 38 markets, it proves its abilities in day-to-day service for customers around the globe: E-mobility works! With more than 100 variants, the eCanter covers 85% of the use cases of conventional vehicles and is therefore well suited for the diverse use cases of our customers."

Hydrogen-based drive technologies to complement battery-electric trucks 

Next to purely battery-electric trucks, hydrogen-based drive technologies can, according to Daimler Truck, be a suitable solution to decarbonize very flexible and particularly demanding applications in heavy-duty long-haul transportation. With the Mercedes-Benz GenH2 Truck a “record-setting” vehicle is being displayed at the IAA Transportation 2024. Demonstrating the practicality of using liquid hydrogen in road freight transportation, the company’s road-legal prototype Mercedes-Benz GenH2 Truck last year completed a trip of 1,047 kilometers across Germany with one fill of liquid hydrogen under real-life conditions.

After a rigorous testing phase on the test track and on public roads, the Mercedes-Benz GenH2 Trucks have now reached an advanced development stage for deployment in various day-to-day applications in first customer fleets. Daimler Truck recently began initial trials of five Mercedes-Benz GenH2 Trucks with Air Products, Amazon, Holcim, INEOS and Wiedmann & Winz. These customers have an opportunity to gain practical experience with fuel cell trucks at an early stage during a test phase of around one year. Through the collaboration, the Daimler Truck development team acquires valuable insights into the real-life operations of trucks powered by liquid hydrogen and learns about specific customer requirements which can be taken into account for series development.

Martin Daum: “Over the last few years we have demonstrated with our broad portfolio of series e-trucks and buses, the Mercedes-Benz GenH2 Truck and various partnerships that we are on the right track with our dual strategy, i.e. with drive technologies based on batteries and on hydrogen. Each of the two technologies have their merits and our customers will need both technologies. For this reason, we now need even more momentum from politics and the energy sector, especially with regard to hydrogen-based drives, so that alongside the vehicles the corresponding infrastructure can be established, and cost-parity can be achieved for our customers.” 

Trade fair premiere: Actros L with futuristic design and economical engines 

With the new Actros L, which will be celebrating its trade fair premiere at the IAA Transportation, Mercedes-Benz Trucks remains one of the pacemakers in the industry also for trucks with conventional drives. The Actros L is characterized by a futuristic vehicle design, optimized aerodynamics, many comfort features, economical engines, a high level of handling dynamics and state-of-the-art assistance systems. The longer front section and other aerodynamic measures lead to fuel savings of up to 3 percent.

The optimized drive train now available for some models, consisting of the G291-12 transmission and RAR 2.278d rear axle, not only ensures a noticeably improved driving experience, especially when accelerating on gradients, and a lower maneuvering speed, but also a quieter and more pleasant ride thanks to the reduced revolution speed at 80km/h. It helps to reduce fuel consumption further.

Daimler Buses presents battery-electric eCitaro K as a world premiere 

On Sunday, Daimler Buses introduced the youngest member of its eCitaro fleet. The battery-electric Mercedes-Benz eCitaro K city bus celebrated its world premiere as part of the Daimler Truck Media Night. A wheelbase that has been shortened by around 1.5 meters makes it suitable for uses where a greater degree of maneuverability is an advantage. The compact eCitaro K also plays its strengths on Sundays, at off-peak times or as a back-up during rush hour. With its capacity of up to 84 passengers, it is nevertheless well-equipped for larger transportation tasks, too. The city bus is available with a minimum of four and a maximum of six battery packs. With the maximum configuration, the eCitaro K provides a range of more than 300 kilometers under favorable conditions - over the entire battery life. The Mercedes-Benz Tourismo Safety Coach celebrated its public premiere, in addition. As a tradition, Daimler Buses uses a Safety Coach to demonstrate the current state of safety technology. The manufacturer furthermore showed a representative of the new generation of Setra MultiClass LE intercity buses. 

 Till Oberwörder, CEO Daimler Buses: “We are actively driving the transformation towards locally CO2-neutral passenger transportation. Our new eCitaro K means that, in the meantime, we have five electrified city buses in our portfolio, enabling us to cover virtually all relevant use-cases in public local transportation. Over and above this, we offer together with our subsidiary Daimler Buses Solutions GmbH turnkey solutions for the operation of a fleet of electric city buses.” 

Activities by Mercedes-Benz Trucks and FUSO at the trade fair 

From September 17 to 20, Mercedes-Benz Trucks will be holding its “Transformed!” late night show at its stand, where visitors to the fair will be able to gain insights into the topic of transformation. The show’s guests will include Jutta Kleinschmidt, the first woman to win the Rallye Dakar and Karlheinz Brandenburg, the inventor of the mp3 format. These and other leading figures from various sectors of society will talk about how to make a success of the first step towards change. Visitors to the trade fair can watch live from 2 p.m. onwards; the individual episodes will then be available for viewing on the Mercedes-Benz Trucks Brand Hub at www.mercedes-benz-trucks.com/iaa-2024 from 9 p.m. onwards. 

In addition, Mercedes-Benz Trucks and FUSO will offer visitors to the trade fair stand the opportunity to take a ride behind the wheel or on the passenger seat with their entire portfolio of electric trucks. As part of a virtual reality experience, visitors will also obtain insights into the electric world of Mercedes-Benz Trucks and be able to discover the e-mobility ecosystem consisting of trucks, services and charging solutions. A mobile charging park was built specifically for this purpose on the exhibition grounds. Here TruckCharge shows the operation of the e-trucks under real-life conditions. Furthermore, there will be many possibilities to obtain consulting and otherwise engage in personal discourse everywhere on the trade fair stand. In addition, there will be guided tours of the stand for in-depth information on the vehicles and the integrated solutions from Mercedes-Benz Trucks.  

About the “European Testing Tour 2024” and the eActros 600 

Mercedes-Benz Trucks successfully took its “eActros 600 European Testing Tour 2024” across the finishing line at the end of July this year. After a 45-day all-electric development trip, the two near-series prototypes of the Mercedes-Benz eActros 600 arrived back in Wörth am Rhein, safe and sound. The tour officially started out from Frankfurt am Main on June 11. Over this period, one of the trucks had traveled exactly 15,269 kilometers and the other 15,939. 

After traveling north through Germany, Denmark and Sweden, the two trucks had reached the first major stage highlight, right on time for Midsummer: The North Cape in Norway, the most northerly point in Europe that can be reached by road. From the end of June, the convoy’s onward route turned south through Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia, Italy, France and Spain. After a stop in Tarifa, Spain, the southernmost place in Continental Europe, which also marked the next major tour highlight, the trip once again took a northerly direction – back to Germany via Portugal, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.  

With the “eActros 600 European Testing Tour 2024”, Mercedes-Benz Trucks gained extensive experience on a wide range of routes in different topographies and climate zones with an eye on energy consumption. The manufacturer now intends to share these findings with interested customers. 

On the road, the e-trucks were exposed to daily average temperatures ranging between 11 and 33 degrees Celsius. The daily average speeds varied between 52 and 82 kilometers per hour. 

The tour team’s experiences with charging at public stations varied greatly. On many occasions, they had to unhitch the semitrailer whenever the charging infrastructure was designed only to accommodate passenger vehicles. On the other hand, they also visited some state-of-the-art truck charging stations.

Around 60 percent of long-distance journeys of Mercedes-Benz Trucks customers in Europe are shorter than 500 kilometers, which means charging infrastructure at the depot and at the loading and unloading points can be sufficient in such cases. For all other uses, continual expansion of public charging infrastructure is vital in order to make the electric truck viable for long-distance haulage across Europe.

In addition to CCS charging with up to 400 kW, the eActros 600 will later also enable megawatt charging (MCS). In April this year, developers from Mercedes-Benz Trucks successfully charged for the first time a prototype of the eActros 600 at a charging station with an output of one megawatt at the in-house development and testing center in Wörth am Rhein. Customers can order a pre-installation for MCS. The MCS technology is planned to be retrofittable for these models of the eActros 600. The batteries can be charged from 20 to 80 percent in about 30 minutes at a suitable charging station with an output of around one megawatt[4].

The eActros 600 has three battery packs, each with 207 kWh[5]. These offer an installed total capacity of 621 kWh. The batteries are based on lithium iron phosphate cell technology (LFP) and are characterized by a long service life. The development engineers at Mercedes-Benz Trucks have designed the eActros 600 to meet the same requirements on the durability of the vehicle and components as a comparable conventional heavy-duty long-haul Actros. That means up to 1.2 million kilometers in ten years of operation. After this period of use, the battery state of health should still be over 80 percent. In contrast to other battery cell technologies, more than 95 percent of the installed capacity can also be used with LFP technology. This makes a higher range with the same installed battery capacity possible.

The vehicle is technically designed for a gross combination mass of up to 44 tons. With a standard semitrailer, the eActros 600 has a payload of around 22 tons in the EU. In some cases, national law may permit a higher payload.

Visually, the long-haul e-truck is characterized by a fundamentally new, puristic design with clear lines and an aerodynamic shape. The core of Mercedes-Benz Trucks’ concept for battery-electric long-distance transport is to offer customers a holistic solution consisting of vehicle technology, consulting, charging infrastructure and services. 

Flexible production of the Mercedes-Benz eActros 600 in Wörth 

The eActros 600 will be manufactured on the existing assembly line at the Wörth plant, in parallel and flexibly alongside the diesel-powered trucks. Once all the high-voltage components have been assembled in several production steps, the entire system goes into operation and the truck is ready to drive. In order to optimally prepare for series production, the production ramp-up team works closely with the developers. This ensures that the experience gained from building the prototypes is incorporated into the further development of the vehicle.

Extensive service solutions and new digital services ensure even more efficient vehicle use

Regardless of segment or type of drive, high availability and predictable costs are essential success factors for transport companies. Daimler Truck is making its contribution to this not only with modern vehicles, but also in the form of various services and new digital tools. In addition, the comprehensive classic and digital services are becoming increasingly interconnected. This integrated services ecosystem ensures that customers use their vehicles even more efficiently. Visitors of Mercedes-Benz Trucks at the IAA Transportation 2024 will be able to experience virtually what lies behind it at the Experience Tower in Hall 19.

Daimler Truck Financial Services on the Path to Becoming an Integrated Service Provider for Electromobility

Daimler Truck Financial Services (DTFS) is evolving from a pure financial services provider into an integrated service provider for electromobility. Together with the Daimler Truck Group and partners the company aims to establish a comprehensive and integrated ecosystem that supports the deployment of zero-emission vehicles by offering a one-stop solution that includes vehicle financing, charging infrastructure, maintenance, and electricity contracts. This transformation opens new growth opportunities in areas such as charging, infrastructure financing, insurance, payment solutions, and rentals.

DTFS has already implemented “Charging as a Service” (CaaS) in the U.S., and offers the “Green Lease” product for the FUSO eCanter in Japan. In Europe, DTFS provides flexible leasing options for the eActros 300/400 and 600, that include service and repairs. The company is also developing new insurance products tailored for electric vehicles and expanding its rental and payment solutions to more markets. DTFS, with around 1,900 employees, is one of the world’s largest captive financial services providers in the commercial vehicle sector, active in 17 countries with plans to expand further.