The bus division of Daimler Trucks intends to offer vehicles with battery and hydrogen drives in all segments in Europe and Latin America by 2030.
Daimler is considered the world's leading bus manufacturer. The Swabians are now rolling out their electrification strategy, with the company initially concentrating on the core markets of Europe and Latin America. In the city bus segment, this should be the case in Europe as early as 2030. On the way there, the battery-electric Mercedes eCitaro city bus will be equipped with a new generation of high-performance batteries from the end of 2022. The lithium-ion batteries increase the capacity per battery cell by around 50 percent with the same weight and enable ranges of around 280 kilometers (solo bus). In addition, from 2023 the eCitaro will have a range extender variant with a fuel cell, which as a solo bus should achieve a range of up to 400 kilometers. The fuel cell module with an output of 60 kW comes from Toyota.,
Production of the first purely battery-electric bus chassis for Latin America and markets in the Oceania region, which has been specially adapted to local needs, will start this year. The "eO500U" chassis with a range of around 250 kilometers is manufactured at the São Bernardo do Campo site in Brazil and is largely based on the technology of the eCitaro.
Long-distance routes with hydrogen fuel cells
From 2025, Daimler plans to have its first all-electric intercity bus, and from the end of this decade, touring coaches with hydrogen-based fuel cell drives will also be included in the range. The bus division adopts this dual strategy with battery-electric and hydrogen-based technologies from the parent company Daimler Trucks.,
In addition to the new bus hardware, Daimler is also relying on extended service packages. Customers receive e-mobility 'turnkey', which means that they receive all the components from Daimler that they need for functioning electric bus transport: In addition to the buses, there are plans for the necessary infrastructure and charging management, the conversion of the depot and training for the staff.,
Conclusion
In its bus division, Daimler largely only uses electric drives - at least when it comes to the markets in Latin America and Europe. In North America, however, they still want to make a lot of money with the conventionally powered new Tourrider bus . Overall, however, the future is seen in electric drives.
