According to Mercedes-Benz that auto was welcomed but sales tapered off in the United States… but with cities all around the world looking to improve their air quality and with growing electric vehicle charging infrastructure the time might finally be right for the reintroduction of around-town electric commercial vehicles. Volker Mornhinweg, the head of Mercedes-Benz Vans said they had introduced medium-sized van (what we know as the Metris) with an electric powertrain back in 2012 for Europe. This means that in the future, heavy trucks will take part in urban distribution operations with zero local emissions and hardly a whisper, according to the company. Nowadays costs, performance and charging times develop further so rapidly that now there is a trend reversal in the distribution sector: “the time is ripe for the electric truck”, says Dr. Wolfgang Bernhard, who responsible for Daimler Trucks & Buses at the Board of Management. Daimler Trucks distributes its trucks under the brand names Mercedes-Benz, Freightliner, FUSO, Western Star, Thomas Built Buses and BharatBenz. “We intend to establish electric driving as systematically as autonomous and connected driving”, he continued.
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The problem with Mercedes-Benz is that not everyone can afford their cars. Could internal combustion be relegated to extinction quicker than previously thought? Daimler’s new Mercedes-Benz Urban eTruck prototype is an all-electric, three-axle heavy duty truck designed for distribution and deliveries within cities. Mack Trucks have recently been evaluating electric powered garbage trucks, which use a turbine engine to extend range, but the Urban eTruck is the next step forward because of its increased battery capacity.
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As it sits, the eTruck has a range of around 124 miles per charge. Daimler Trucks expects the costs of batteries to lower by the factor 2.5 between 1997 and 2025. Batteries are inside crash-proof cases, and can be recharged in as little as two hours.
