Daimler Trucks & Buses is investing in the US company Proterra Inc. This was announced at the 67th IAA Commercial Vehicles in Hannover by Martin Daum, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG with responsibility for Daimler Trucks & Buses.
Proterra was founded in 2004 with headquarters in California and is a leader in the business with electric buses for local transport.
In conjunction with the investment, Proterra and Daimler have entered into an agreement to explore the electrification of select Daimler heavy-duty vehicles. The first of these efforts will be to explore potential synergies with Daimler’s Thomas Built Buses division by bringing Proterra’s proven battery and drive train technologies to the North American school bus market, the next frontier for zero-emission, commercial fleets.
Similar to public transit vehicles, school buses provide mission-critical community infrastructure and offer an excellent use case for vehicle electrification, as most school buses travel a predictable distance per day that is well within the capability of Proterra’s EV technology.
With this collaboration on an electric vehicle for the school bus market, Daimler and Proterra have the potential to provide reliable, affordable transportation options with environmentally sustainable, zero-emission EV technology.
Martin Daum: “We started working on electric trucks and buses at a very early stage and we aim to set the standards here in each relevant segment. We expect the cooperation with Proterra to deliver additional impetus for the development of heavy-duty commercial vehicles with electric drive. In this way, we are broadening our scope in particular concerning the key technology of the battery – also with regard to North America.”
