Mercedes plans electric heavy truck in about 5 years

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Bloomberg  /  July 27, 2016

Mercedes-Benz outlined plans to start selling an electric heavy-duty truck in about five years, a week after Tesla Motors' initial sketch on battery-powered commercial vehicles failed to impress investors.

The Mercedes-Benz Urban eTruck will have a range of about 200 kilometers (124 miles) per battery charge and capacity for loads of as much as 26 metric tons, parent company Daimler said today. The model, targeted for inner-city tasks such as supermarket deliveries, could go on sale by the start of the next decade, it said.

Truckmakers are starting to develop electric models to meet tighter emissions rules for city centers, though options are limited due to a lack of batteries with the durability to propel fully loaded vehicles for long periods of constant use.

Trucks tested include the six-ton Canter e-Cell from Daimler’s Fuso brand and a model from Swedish competitor Scania that’s powered by overhead electric cables, while U.S. startup Nikola Motor has outlined plans to unveil a battery-powered prototype in December.

"Until now, there were extremely few commercial vehicles with electric powertrains," Wolfgang Bernhard, head of the Daimler Trucks division, said in a statement before presenting the model in the company’s hometown of Stuttgart, Germany. “There’s now such a significant improvement on costs, performance and charging times that we’re seeing a step-by-step change.”

Tesla CEO Elon Musk included a freight truck as part of a proposed lineup expansion in his July 21 master plan for the U.S. manufacturer. While the company’s Model S sedan was the first e-car with broad appeal, a commercial vehicle will pose a new challenge as fleet operators focus on cost of ownership and durability over design and comfort features.

Customers will also be reluctant to risk buying unproven technology, said Tom De Vleesschauwer, an analyst at research company IHS Markit. Tesla has the potential to overcome those doubts by cooperating with co-founder Ian Wright’s Wrightspeed, a manufacturer that specializes in electrifying trucks, De Vleesschauwer said.

“Nikola Motor and Tesla have raised plenty of market enthusiasm and speculation,” the analyst said. “Market prospects are such that the share of electrified medium- and heavy-duty trucks could grow for specific market applications only.”

Sales of electric versions might account for 4 percent of European Union and U.S. medium- and heavy-duty truck sales by 2025, according to IHS.

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Mercedes-Benz is presenting the first fully electric truck for heavy distribution operations

Daimler Press Release  /  July 27, 2016

• Mercedes-Benz Urban eTruck enables fully electric transport for the first time ever with an admissible total weight of 26 tonnes
• Ranges of up to 200 kilometres, load capacity comparable with diesel drive
• Series production for urban short-radius distribution conceivable at the beginning of the next decade
• Fuso Canter E-Cell: fully electric drive of Daimler Trucks in a light distribution truck (6 tonnes) already undergoing customer trials
• Wolfgang Bernhard: "Electric drive systems previously only saw extremely limited use in trucks. 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. In light distribution trucks, our Fuso Canter E-Cell has already been undergoing intensive customer trials since 2014. And with the Mercedes-Benz Urban eTruck, we are now electrifying the heavy distribution segment up to 26 tonnes. We intend to establish electric driving as systematically as autonomous and connected driving."

Stuttgart – The world’s most successful truck manufacturer Daimler Trucks is presenting the Mercedes-Benz Urban eTruck in Stuttgart today, as the first fully electric truck with an admissible total weight of up to 26 tonnes. This means that in the future, heavy trucks will take part in urban distribution operations with zero local emissions and hardly a whisper. The market launch of this technology is conceivable for Daimler Trucks at the beginning of the next decade. In the light distribution sector, Daimler Trucks has already been impressively demonstrating the day-to-day suitability of the fully electric truck in customer trials with the Fuso Canter E-Cell since 2014. The development of electric trucks and series production maturity are fixed parts of the strategy of Daimler Trucks to build on our technological leadership. For this purpose a considerable part of the future investments by the truck division in the fields of research and development flow in the further development of the full electric drive.

"Electric drive systems previously only saw extremely limited use in trucks. 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. In light distribution trucks, our Fuso Canter E-Cell has already been undergoing intensive customer trials since 2014. And with the Mercedes-Benz Urban eTruck, we are now electrifying the heavy distribution segment up to 26 tonnes. We intend to establish electric driving as systematically as autonomous and connected driving," says Wolfgang Bernhard, responsible for Daimler Trucks & Buses at the Board of Management.

Growing urbanisation requires fully electric trucks

Better air quality, lower noise and restricted-access zones are now important keywords in large metropolises worldwide, because more and more people worldwide are moving to cities. 2008 was the first year in which more people lived in cities than in the countryside. The trend is continuing: The UN predicts a global population of nine billion people by 2050, with approximately 70 percent of them living in cities. In future, it will be necessary to transport goods in urban environments for increasing numbers of people – and with the lowest possible emissions and noise. By now large cities such as London or Paris are considering a ban on internal combustion engines in city centres in the future. That means: there will be fully electric trucks ensuring the supply of humas with food or other goods of daily needs.

Fast enhancement of battery capacity while significantly lower costs

Until quite recently, the use of fully electric drives systems in trucks seemed to be unimaginable – especially because of the high costs of the batteries coupled with a low range. The technology has now become much more mature. In particular battery cells rapidly developing further. Daimler Trucks

expects the costs of batteries to lower by the factor 2.5 between 1997 and 2025 – from 500 Euro/kWh down to 200 Euro/kWh. At the same time, performance will improve by the same factor over the same period – from 80 Wh/kg up to 200 Wh/kg.

Stefan Buchner, Head of Mercedes-Benz Trucks: "With the Mercedes-Benz Urban eTruck, we are underlining our intention to systematically developing the electric drive in trucks to series production maturity. This means that we will begin to integrate customers, so as to gain valuable joint experience with respect to the operating ranges and the charging infrastructure in daily transport operations. Because we think the entry of this technology into the series production is already conceivable at the beginning of the next decade."

Innovative battery technology for Urban e Truck

Technically the Mercedes-Benz Urban eTruck is based on a heavy-duty, three-axle short-radius Mercedes-Benz distribution truck. In addition, however, the developers at Daimler Trucks have totally revised the drive concept: The entire conventional drivetrain being replaced by a new electrically driven rear axle with electric motors directly adjacent to the wheel hubs – derived from the electric rear axle which was developed for the Mercedes-Benz Citaro hybrid bus. The power is supplied by a battery pack consisting of three lithium-ion battery modules. This results in a range of up to 200 km – enough for a typical daily delivery tour. Thanks to the integrated concept with motors adjacent to the wheel hubs, the batteries are housed in a crash-proof location inside the frame.

As the EU Commission is in favour of increasing the permissible gross vehicle weight of trucks with alternative drives by up to one tonne, this will more or less level out the weight surplus of the electric drive. This will raise the permissible gross vehicle weight of the Urban e Truck from 25 to 26 tonnes, which will bring the original extra weight down to 700 kg compared with a directly comparable IC-engined truck.

Fuso Canter E-Cell: all-electric drive in customer operation since 2014

Where light-duty trucks are concerned, all-electric drive is already a reality. This is demonstrated by the Fuso Canter E-Cell. Fuso already presented the first generation of the fully electrically powered Canter in 2010. In 2014 this was followed by the second generation, which proved its worth in the first fleet trials in Portugal. With ranges of over 100 kilometres, the vehicles exceeded the average daily distance covered by many trucks in light-duty short-radius distribution. Under widely varying operating conditions, the trucks covered more than 50,000 km within one year. In the process the vehicless were locally emission-free and, taking power generation into account, reduced CO₂ emissions by 37 percent compared to diesel engines. The operating costs were 64 percent lower on average.

Marc Llistosella, Head of Daimler Trucks Asia and President & CEO of Mitsubishi Fuso Trucks and Bus Cooperation (MFTBC): "The current generation Canter E-Cell offers our customers transport services which are not only environment-friendly, but also economical. Our test in Lisbon revealed respectable savings of around 1000 euros per 10,000 kilometres in comparison to diesel trucks."

"We at Fuso have now acquired extensive experience in the development of local emission-free commercial vehicles und we will consequently pursue this development also in future. At the Commercial Vehicles show IAA in September, will will take a step further towards series production with our next generation under the new name: Fuso eCanter,” continues Llistosella.

Current fleet trials with the Fuso Canter E-Cell in Germany

Since April 2016 the city of Stuttgart and the parcel service provider Hermes are testing five Fuso Cater E-Cell in Germany. Especially the using in the topographically very demanding environment in urban Stuttgart provides important insights for Daimler Trucks from the customer operation with regard to the further development of the fully electric drive. First results from this customer trial are expected at the beginning of 2017.

Dirk Rahn, Managing Director Operations at Hermes Germany underlined during the today’s event: "We are very proud of our successful cooperation with Daimler in the development of relevant future technologies for many years. Also regarding the current project, we accepted with pleasure the invention of Daimler to actively support the testing of the Fuso Canter E-Cell out of our logistical everyday life. Thereby, the results of our trest run are extremely positive! With regard to the growing requirements in city logistics we are now looking forward to test further vehicle classes and to bring them to market maturity soon. Our common goal: making e-mobility more economical.”

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Daimler Trucks unveils electric heavy-duty Urban eTruck from Mercedes-Benz

Green Car Congress  /  July 27, 2016

Daimler Trucks has unveiled the Mercedes-Benz Urban eTruck, an all-electric, short-radius distribution heavy-duty truck, based on a three-axle truck from Mercedes-Benz. The entire conventional drivetrain has been replaced by an electrically driven rear axle with electric motors directly adjacent to the wheel hubs. Their maximum output is 2 x 125 kW, while the peak torque is 2 x 500 N·m. In combination with the gearing, the torque at the wheel reaches 11,000 N·m.

The power is supplied by a battery pack consisting of three modules of lithium-ion batteries with a total capacity of 212 kWh. This results in a range of up to 200 km (124 miles)—normally enough for a typical day's delivery round. Depending on the desired range, the modular battery pack can be customized by adding or removing batteries. The Urban eTruck is connected to the charging station using the Europe-wide standardized Combined Charging System (CCS) Type 2 connector. With a charging power of 100 kW, the fully discharged batteries are charged to 100% in two to three hours. (The system will support up to 150 kW.)

The axle is based on the ZF AVE 130 and has already proved its worth in its basic version as a low-floor portal axle in hybrid and fuel-cell buses from Mercedes-Benz.

However, the axle has been comprehensively modified for use in the Urban eTruck. There is a new axle housing, which is significantly raised to give a ground clearance of more than 200 mm. The method of axle attachment has been reconfigured on account of the frame-type construction typical of a truck.

Another characteristic of the axle used in this particular application is its super single tires sized 495/45 R 22.5. These are used because of the frame width of the chassis in combination with the positioning of the electric drive motors adjacent to the wheel hubs. Also, super singles are considerably less heavy than conventional twin tires, making for a higher payload. The maximum permissible axle load of the drive axle is 11.5 tonnes, which is at the usual level.

The leading and trailing axles of the Urban eTruck are familiar, tried-and-tested components from Mercedes-Benz trucks. They are each shod with single tires of size 315/70 R 22.5. The trailing axle is steered. For reasons of weight, the Urban eTruck is equipped with aluminium wheels.

For the Urban eTruck, the original low-floor axle has been provided with a liquid-cooled high-speed asynchronous three-phase motor on each side. The rated voltage is 400 V, while the maximum output is 2 x 125 kW. The motors have a peak torque of 2 x 500 N·m. In combination with the gearing, the torque at the wheel reaches 11,000 N·m.

All the ancillary components of the Urban eTruck are electrically operated. This applies to the air compressor of the braking system as well as the power steering pump and the compressor of the air conditioning system. The cab is heated by waste heat from the drivetrain cooling system.

Three-axle rigids with 26 tonnes permissible gross vehicle weight are responsible for deliveries to shopping centers or large supermarkets, particularly in urban and suburban areas. They combine high load capacity with maneuverability. The same concept is reflected in the Urban eTruck, which is based on a three-axle short-radius distribution truck. It is celebrating its premiere in the form of a chassis with cab.

The electrically driven axle weighs around 1000 kg, while the other necessary electrical components add up to a further 900 kg. The heaviest components are the batteries, including mountings, which weigh in at 2500 kg. This is offset by the absence of an engine, transmission, propeller shaft, differential and fuel tank, which together come to around 2700 kg. This means that the Urban eTruck in the described configuration has an extra weight of only about 1700 kg.

The EU Commission is in favor of increasing the permissible gross vehicle weight of trucks with alternative drives by up to one tonne;this will more or less cancel out the weight disadvantage of the electric drive. This will raise the permissible gross vehicle weight of the three-axle rigid truck from 25 to 26 tonnes, which will bring the original extra weight down to 700 kg compared with a directly comparable IC-engined truck.

Fuso Canter E-Cell As far as light-duty trucks are concerned, the all-electric drive is already a reality. This is demonstrated by the Fuso Canter E-Cell. Following a successful fleet trial in Portugal, the Canter E-Cell has now satisfactorily completed around six months of the first fleet trial for trucks of this kind in Germany. (Earlier post.) It will be available in future under the name of Fuso eCanter. There will be news about it at the IAA International Motor Show for Commercial Vehicles, which begins on 21 September 2016.

Its battery packs with a total capacity of 48 kWh are mounted on the left and right sides of the frame. The electric motor has an output of 110 kW, while the peak torque is 650 N·m. The range of the Canter E-Cell is over 100 km, depending on how the vehicle is used. In Europe, the batteries are charged with the same, standardized connector used also by the Urban eTruck. The vehicle can be fast-charged to 80% of its total capacity in just one hour.

Alongside Mercedes-Benz and Freightliner, Fuso is the third major brand of Daimler Trucks and a leading manufacturer of “green” light-duty trucks. Fuso Canter Eco Hybrids are in service all around the world. The second generation of the truck has been in production since 2012. The first generation of the all-electric Canter E-Cell was launched by Fuso in 2010, with the second generation following in 2014. In parallel with the current fleet trial in Germany, Fuso is already working on the third generation, which will make the electrically powered Canter even more efficient and suitable for everyday use.

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