Daimler AG announced on July 27 that it will produce a 26-metric-ton electric, called the Mercedes-Benz Urban eTruck, as the company’s entry into the market.
The model will be targeted for inner-city tasks such as supermarket deliveries and have a range of about 120 miles per battery charge.
“Until now, no one’s been making money from electric vehicles,” Wolfgang Bernhard, head of the Daimler Trucks division, said at the model’s presentation at company headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany, as reported by Bloomberg News. “But those who are too late with new technology lose market share, and that’s why these models are coming out now.”
Developments in technology “will soon make electric trucks economical, but this will have limited applications,” he said. “For long-distance freight, the progress with batteries hasn’t gone far enough.”
Technology advances are likely to cut the cost of batteries 60% and about triple their power by 2025 from 1997 levels, Daimler said. About 10% of trucks make deliveries in urban areas, making them the prime models to be electrified, Bernhard said.
Read more on the overall market for electric trucks on IndustryWeek.
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