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Daimler AG premiered three vehicles that will address challenges such as emission, noise and congestion, which the urban population is confronted with, at an exhibition in Hanover today.
Concepts of the Mercedes-Benz Urban eTruck, the Future Bus and the Vision Van were unveiled by the German auto major at the 66th IAA Commercial Vehicles exhibition in Hanover.
“If IAA 2014 was about Dailmer’s vision for long haul transportation, IAA 2016, is all about making urban transport efficient, safe and connected”, said Wolfgang Bernhard, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG, Daimler Trucks and Buses. These three vehicles will address challenges such as emission, noise and congestion which the urban population is confronted with, he added.
With no limitations in payload, revolutionary display and control systems and intelligent communication capabilities with its environment, the design of the eTruck is and practical.
The truck comes with a total battery (lithium ion) capacity of 212 kWh, providing a range of up to 200 km, normally enough to last for a day’s delivery round.
The eTruck is expected to begin production in 2020.
“The semi autonomous Future Bus, comes with ‘city pilot’ systems that has capabilities to take cognizance of road signals, brake automatically when encountering obstacles or pedestrians and recognise tunnels,” explained Hartmut Schick, Head of Daimler Buses.
While the interior is modelled on public spaces such as squares and parks, this bus comes with an advanced diesel engine for city buses – the Mercedes Benz OM 936 six-cylinder in-line engine.
The electrically powered Vision Van , with automated cargo bays and integrated delivery drones and used for last mile delivery services, was also unveiled. Production is expected to begin in 2018. All these three vehicles are expected to be sold only in mature markets though an India launch is not expected to be on the radar right now.
Besides, keeping in tune with its theme for IAA 2016, “ Connected and Intelligent. Ahead of time.”
Daimler introduced products such as the Mercedes-Benz Uptime service product and a FleetBoard Manager app to improve connectivity in its trucks. The vans division showcased its initiatives for the future, such as the Mercedes-Benz adVANce and Mercedes PRO connect.
Daimler Buses also introduced its “Omniplus” feature, where the company will takeover maintenance services in the customer’s repair facility.
(The writer was in Hanover at the invitation of Daimler AG)
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