Daimler Buses is expanding its public charging network for electric buses with a new charging hub planned at Hamburg Central Bus Station (ZOB Hamburg), one of Germany’s busiest long-distance bus terminals.
The company has signed a lease agreement with ZOB Hamburg GmbH, the operator of the facility, with approval from the municipal owner. Daimler Buses has also submitted the required building permit application, with the new charging site scheduled to begin operation in 2027.
The Hamburg project will initially feature four fast-charging stations, with infrastructure designed to allow expansion to as many as eight charging points.
Implementation and operation will be handled by Daimler Buses Solutions GmbH, a wholly owned subsidiary of Daimler Buses. The model allows bus operators using the terminal to access charging infrastructure without having to finance, install, or manage the charging equipment themselves.
The planned Hamburg charging stations will offer charging power of up to 600 kW, providing a significant boost for electric coach and intercity bus operations.
Importantly, the chargers will be available to electric buses from all manufacturers, rather than being restricted to Mercedes-Benz vehicles. The charging infrastructure will also use electricity exclusively from renewable energy sources.
Construction will involve civil engineering work, high-voltage power connections, a transformer, and the installation of the charging equipment.
Daimler Buses Solutions will finance the infrastructure through the sale of charging electricity. Once the facility is operational, the company’s service team will also be responsible for maintenance and technical operations.
Daimler Buses says it is currently the only bus manufacturer in Europe developing and operating its own public charging infrastructure for electric buses.
Hamburg Central Bus Station is particularly well suited to electric bus charging because of the large number of scheduled coach and intercity bus movements passing through the site.
The terminal handles more than 80,000 bus movements each year, making it one of Germany’s largest long-distance bus hubs. Buses already spend scheduled time at the station, either as an intermediate stop or as the final destination of a route.
Those scheduled dwell times can be used to recharge electric buses without requiring major changes to existing operations. Passenger amenities, including restrooms and food services, are also already available at the terminal.
This makes central bus stations an increasingly important part of the charging infrastructure needed to expand electric intercity and coach travel.
Daimler Buses is particularly interested in expanding public charging options for its first battery-electric intercity bus, the Mercedes-Benz eIntouro.
The electric bus has been available to order since spring 2025, with the first customer deliveries scheduled for the coming weeks. The eIntouro is designed for a range of applications, including services connecting urban and rural areas, excursion trips, and shorter-distance coach operations.
These applications are among the more practical early use cases for battery-electric buses outside traditional urban public transportation.
However, longer-distance coach services and routes to more distant tourist destinations will require a much broader network of high-power charging stations. Daimler Buses believes strategically located public chargers can help remove one of the key barriers to wider electric bus adoption.
According to Daimler Buses, charging buses at locations where they already make scheduled stops can make it easier for operators to integrate electric vehicles into existing routes while keeping operations efficient.
Hamburg will become the third location where Daimler Buses is developing its own public charging infrastructure, following projects in Cologne and Munich.
The company says it sees significant potential in the charging infrastructure market and plans to continue investing in the sector through Daimler Buses Solutions.
Additional locations are already being evaluated, particularly at highly frequented sites where intercity and coach buses regularly stop.
Daimler Buses Solutions is also inviting property owners, site operators, and potential long-term users to propose locations suitable for electric bus charging infrastructure.
As electric coaches and intercity buses move beyond limited urban applications, access to reliable high-power charging will become increasingly important. Daimler Buses’ Hamburg project is another step toward building the infrastructure needed to support that transition across Germany.
