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Daimler 360 GRAD - FAKTEN zur Nachhaltigkeit 2008
Daimler Nachhaltigkeitsbericht 2008 / Environmental protection, innovation, and safety / Innovation, development and safety /
Sustainable mobility strategy for commercial vehicles / Hybrid drives in commercial vehicles*
Hybrid drives in commercial vehicles: Our
models in tests and in day-to-day
operation*
With 1,500 Orion VII HybriDrive city buses already on the road in North America, 460 pending delivery, and new
orders of 1,100 units, Orion has received 2,600 orders since the launch of the Orion hybrid bus in 2003. That
makes Daimler Buses the world's leading supplier of hybrid buses worldwide.
The Mitsubishi Fuso Aero low-floor hybrid buses are already in regular service in three Japanese cities. At the end
of September 2007, Mitsubishi Fuso presented the second generation under the name Aero Star Eco Hybrid.
Daimler Buses is implementing a technologically pioneering hybrid system in the low-floor Citaro G BlueTec
Hybrid articulated bus. Rather than providing continuous driving power, the bus’s diesel engine operates as a
generator to produce electrical power when required. The electrical power is stored in lithium-ion batteries
mounted on the roof of the Citaro. In addition, the energy recovered from braking is stored in the batteries as
well. The actual drive power to the wheels of the bus is provided by four electric wheel hub motors on the center
and rear axles of the vehicle. The energy recovered from braking when approaching bus stops or red lights is
used to start up the vehicle again and to supply the bus with power when it is stationary. As a result, the hybrid
bus can run solely on electricity and therefore operate almost emission-free and with far less noise when it is
stationary, waiting at bus stops, or accelerating. The aim of this innovation is to allow the Citaro G BlueTec
Hybrid to cover almost half of its demanding inner-city route while running solely on electricity and without
switching on its diesel engine. Depending on how the vehicle is used, the developers expect the Citaro G BlueTec
Hybrid to consume between about 20 and 30 percent less fuel than a conventional diesel-powered bus. The
vehicle will make its regular-service debut with a customer later this year, and is scheduled to go into series
production in 2009.
A hybrid version of a Thomas Built school bus, the Saf-T-Liner C2 Hybrid, will be launched on the North American
market in 2009.
Short-radius distribution. Our development activities in this area focus on further reducing fuel consumption and
drastically lowering emissions for vehicles that are used all over the world in inner-city areas with particularly
limited access for traffic. Around 200 Mitsubishi Fuso Canter Eco Hybrid light trucks have rolled off the assembly
line since the vehicle was first presented in summer 2006. This vehicle is the first light truck to comply with
Japan’s stringent emissions standards. In addition, the truck is extremely fuel-efficient, consuming around 20
percent less fuel than if it were equipped with a comparable diesel engine. The Canter Eco Hybrid achieves this
high fuel efficiency by switching between operating modes, depending on the driving situation. The electric motor
is used to get the truck moving, and the diesel engine kicks in during rapid acceleration. The diesel engine is also
responsible for driving power when the truck rolls along at a steady rate.
The Mercedes-Benz Atego BlueTec Hybrid 7.5 t introduced in 2007 is equipped with the same power train as the
Fuso Eco Canter. In early 2008, two of these vehicles were transferred to the delivery company DHL for
customer testing. The developers expect the truck to achieve fuel savings of up to 20 percent.
The medium-duty Freightliner M2 Hybrid truck combines a compact Mercedes-Benz six-cylinder inline engine
with an electric motor. The vehicle not only uses the drive system’s electric motor as an alternative or to
complement the engine, but also as a power source for the accessory units. The system can achieve fuel savings
of between 25 and 30 percent. Freightliner currently plans to produce 150 hybrid M2s this year, with series
production commencing in 2009.
The Mercedes-Benz Atego BlueTec Hybrid 12 t combines the electric motor from the Freightliner M2 with a
Mercedes-Benz four-cylinder diesel engine.
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