It emits zero local emissions and runs almost silently. It combines the thousand fold proven platform of Mercedes-Benz’ best-selling city bus with new technological solutions and an independent design. The all-electric Mercedes‑Benz eCitaro takes electric city buses to a new level and impresses with its innovative thermal management system with exceptional energy efficiency and reliability of range. Its performance enables the eCitaro to cover a large part of the requirements of the transport operators right from the start.
“We no longer place a question mark after electric mobility for trucks and buses – we rather place an unequivocal exclamation mark! With our world premiere of the eCitaro, we are shaping the future of the public transport network – and that is of great significance to our customers, to society and naturally enough to us at Daimler Trucks & Buses as well. That is why we are consistently working on the electrification of our vehicles – and we have been doing so for many years now”, explains Martin Daum, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG responsible for Daimler Trucks & Buses.
An overview of the Mercedes-Benz eCitaro
The platform of the new Mercedes‑Benz eCitaro is the Citaro, the brand’s best-selling city bus with more than 50,000 units sold. Lithium-ion batteries with a total capacity of up to about 243 kWh provide the power for the eCitaro.They are modular in design: the batteries are divided between as many as ten modules, each supplying around 25 kWh.
The future is electric: kick-off for an innovation initiative
The new Mercedes-Benz eCitaro of the year 2018 is the kick-off for an innovation initiative with a clear strategy aimed at the swift and above all practical electrification of public transit with buses in cities and population centres. The eCitaro will be able to replace city buses powered by a combustion engine nearly completely in just a few years.
Revolutionary step: Fuel cell as a range extender
Subsequently, the range of the eCitaro will be increased yet again by a range extender in the form of a fuel cell that generates electricity. It will be designed to allow the eCitaro to fulfil nearly 100 percent of all requirements on city buses. This technology eliminates the need for opportunity charging and the complex infrastructure required for it in almost all cases – the eCitaro will be able to replace city buses with combustion engine virtually one to one.