At IAA Transportation 2024 last month, I experienced firsthand the magnetic effect of the “Tesla phenomenon”. Towards the end of a series of keynote speeches delivered by some of the industry’s most important executives, Dan Priestley, who heads the development of Tesla’s heavy electric ‘Semi’ truck, took to the stage to provide an update on the company’s plans for the commercial vehicle segment. I had a place towards the front, having sat through the preceding talks that afternoon, which were reasonably well attended; however, looking behind just before Priestley’s entry to the stage, I saw a new crowd of attendees filling out the entire space.

The jury praised the concept of the truck, which was first unveiled at the last IAA Transportation event in 2022: originally called ‘eActros Long Haul’, the idea was to develop a truck capable of covering up to 500 kilometres on a single charge.

Rådström has been a key figure in the company since joining its Board of Management in 2021, where she led the Mercedes-Benz Trucks division. She played a significant role in driving profitability and advancing the sustainability agenda, including launching new battery-electric trucks.

MFTBC first started trials of the new model in November 2023 in Kawasaki City, in partnership with the Ministry of the Environment.

The new lab verifies and validates software feature functionality for trucks and buses that not only meet current safety standards, but also helps Daimler Truck products manufactured products meeting future global safety regulations.

The company has been testing a hydrogen-powered engine in a Mercedes-Benz Unimog with the long-term aim of developing, at scale, hydrogen combustion engines for heavy-duty and specialised vehicles.

The site houses the battery R&D centre (InnoLab Battery) and the manufacturing component, which is currently producing battery cells and packs on a prototype line in order to acquire the necessary knowledge before series production in the second half of the decade can commence.

Having travelled 15,000 kilometres through 22 European countries over 45 days, the two prototype Mercedes Benz eActros 600 long-haul battery-electric trucks have returned to Wörth am Rhein after a successful tour. The 40-tone-gross combination weight trucks exclusively used public charging points during the trip.

The company has now built a pavilion named the “Actros 600 Experience World” in Wörth, where customers, clients and the general public can learn about the vehicle as well as the company’s history. Daimler is attempting to educate the public on the need for electrification as it rolls out its zero-emission product range.

Having purchased the full “e-package solution,” Daimler installed 41 charging stations (output of 360 kW) with a total number of 122 charging points at the depot. The result, up to four buses per charging station can be charged overnight at 90 kW. The supply agreement also includes maintenance and charging management software.

Daimler Truck is offering its “depot charging package” which includes hardware sales, installation and maintenance. This service is now available to customers in Germany and will be rolled out to other parts of Europe in the next few years.

This project will study the feasibility of commercialising the use of international liquefied green hydrogen supply chains, including LH2-terminals, large- and medium-sized overseas shipping and large-scale liquid hydrogen storage.