Daimler Truck is accelerating the electrification of its vehicle fleet: The Mercedes-Benz eEconic for municipal use is going into series production at the Wörth site in the southern Rhineland-Palatinate. Within a short period of time, the second model of the battery-electric Mercedes-Benz trucks will roll off the production line in Wörth, following the series launch of the eActros for urban distribution transport in October 2021.
The eEconic was developed together with customers and, following intensive test series, has been undergoing practical trials with customers since May 2022. The first vehicle from series production will be handed over to Urbaser A/S, a company operating in the waste disposal sector in Denmark.
Other customers have already opted for the series-production eEconic. The vehicles are to be delivered successively over the course of the year.
Series production of electric trucks at the Future Truck Center
The eEconic will be manufactured in the existing Mercedes-Benz Special Trucks assembly line, in parallel and flexibly alongside the trucks that will be powered by internal combustion engines. After the vehicle has been largely assembled, the eEconic’s electrification continues in the Future Truck Center, where – just like the eActros – it is equipped with the electric drive components. In several production steps, the high-voltage batteries and the charging unit are installed, among other things. Once all high-voltage components have been assembled, the entire system can be put into operation and the truck is ready to drive.
In the course of the transformation towards CO2-neutral transport, the Wörth site has set itself the goal, among other things, of continuously developing its workforce for the production of trucks with new drive systems. This also includes ensuring that employees who work on high-voltage vehicles such as the eEconic undergo specific training and development. Since 2018, employees at the Wörth site have been qualified for the production of electric trucks. To date, around 2,700 employees have been trained to handle high-voltage vehicles and components at the site’s own training center. They have thus acquired the necessary knowledge and are optimally prepared for the new requirements in production.
Fully electric municipal application
The key technical specifications of the eEconic are largely identical to those of the eActros. The eEconic as a waste collection is designed to cover the vast majority of typical waste collection routes operated by an Econic in a single shift without intermediary charging. The electric drivetrain enables a level cab floor to be implemented – this facilitates moving through the cab and is particularly advantageous when the driver wishes to leave the vehicle through the folding door on the co-driver’s side, well out of the way of the traffic.
A significant upgrade over the conventional Econic comes in the form of the modern and intuitive multimedia cockpit. A further equipment highlight is the panoramic glazing, and the coated and heated Thermocontrol windscreen also prevents weather-dependent misting of the screen, thus improving the view of the road around the vehicle. The screen also prevents cab interior from heating up in sunlight. Major safety benefit in urban traffic: As standard, the eEconic features Sideguard Assist S1R and the 5th generation Active Brake Assist emergency braking assistant.
Daimler Truck: Emission-free vehicle fleet by 2039
The start of production of the eEconic is another milestone on Daimler Truck’s path to CO2-neutral transport: in order to contribute to the decarbonization of the commercial vehicle industry, the company is pursuing the goal of putting CO2-neutral transport on the roads by 2050. The Group therefore aims to sell only CO2-neutral vehicles in its main sales regions in North America, Europe and Japan from 2039 forward. The so-called „dual strategy“ focuses on two complementary technologies for the power supply of our drive-trains: batteries and hydrogen fuel cells.
