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Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV), the wholly-owned subsidiary of Germany’s Daimler Truck AG (Daimler Truck), has announced its foray into the Indian battery electric market with the all-electric NextGeneration eCanter. (third generation)
The all-electric eCanter for India is undergoing advanced trials. The battery electric platform originated in Japan, where the series production of the first-generation eCanter started in 2017, Satyakam Arya, Managing Director & CEO, DICV, told newspersons on Tuesday.
The launch of the all-electric eCanter in India will happen in the next 6 to 12 months. This is the first step in the long-term strategy to decarbonise the entire product portfolio, he said. “We definitely have plans to assemble the vehicle here,” he said without disclosing whether initial vehicles will be imported for the launch or manufacture at the company’s plant in Oragadam near Chennai.
(L to R) Satyakam Arya – MD and CEO, Daimler India Commercial Vehicles ; Andreas Gorbach – Member of Board of Management, Daimler Truck AG and Head of Global Truck Technology and Karl Deppen – Member of Board of Management, Daimler Truck AG and Head of Daimler Truck Asia at a press conference in Chennai on Tuesday. | Photo Credit: Bijoy Ghosh
The all electric eCanter, which marks DICV’s foray into India’s light-duty truck segment. It is a versatile and mature product that fits the Indian market, he said. Canter is a global brand that produces medium-duty trucks and light-duty trucks. The eCanter is the electric version of the segment. In India, it will wear the BharatBenz brand, said Arya. The product range in terms of the capacity to be launched in India will be decided once the trials are over, he added.
The eCanter had its world premiere in Japan and Europe in the second half of 2022. Since its first-generation launch in 2017, the eCanter has sold hundreds in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Hong Kong.
Arya said the reality is that diesel ICE and CO2-neutral propulsion technologies will continue to co-exist in the Indian market for the foreseeable future. A long-term plan like ours hinges on many complex external factors, some of which are the availability of charging and refuelling infrastructure, the availability of green energy, cost parity, and wide-scale customer acceptance.
DICV has already developed a BharatBenz hydrogen fuel cell concept coach in alliance with a large Indian conglomerate. In the future, DICV will introduce trucks across different utility segments to serve long haul, mining, construction, POL, dumper and RMC for various freight and terrain requirements.
(L-R): Andreas Gorbach, Member of the Board of Management at Daimler Truck & Head of Global Truck Technology; Karl Deppen, Member of the Board of Management at Daimler Truck and Head of Daimler Truck Asia; Ms. Karin Rådström, Member of the Board of Management at Daimler Truck & CEO of Mercedes-Benz Trucks, pose alongside Satyakam Arya, Managing Director & CEO of Daimler India Commercial Vehicles, with the 3rd Generation FUSO eCanter in Oragadam, Chennai. | Photo Credit:
“LNG, if used at all, will be an interim, tactical solution for long haul transportation. We will primarily commit to battery-electric and hydrogen-based propulsion technologies across our future product portfolio, in a phased manner. One thing is for sure that we will be ready with the right vehicles when the market is,” said Arya.
India’s CO2-neutral propulsion technology market is still in its infancy and therefore has tremendous scope in the long term, he said.
Andreas Gorbach, Member of the Board of Management, Daimler Truck AG and Head of Global Truck Technology, said the two mega trends going on globally are decarbonisaion and digitisation. “We still invest in diesel and stay competitive in a consolidated portfolio,” he said.
Karl Deppen – Member of Board of Management, Daimler Truck AG and Head of Daimler Truck Asia, said Daimler Truck is fully committed to the Paris Climate Protection Agreement. Daimler Truck is striving for its new trucks and buses to be CO2- neutral in Europe, Japan and US by 2039, and globally by 2050, he said.
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