Hybrid commercial vehicles worldwide

Daimler develops and manufactures hybrid drives not only for passenger cars and SUVs; the company's researchers and developers around the world are also working on sustainable concepts for transporting people and goods in commercial vehicles.

Daimler's North American brand Orion is already producing hybrid buses. For example, 1,500 orders for the low-floor Orion VII Hybrid urban bus have been received from various U.S. and Canadian cities since 2003. Some 1,000 of these vehicles are already in operation on the streets of New York and other major cities, which hold options on another 525 vehicles. Orion is thus the world market leader for hybrid buses.

A hallmark of the Orion buses is a series hybrid drive that uses an electric motor. The latter receives its energy from a generator powered by a diesel engine. In addition, the generator charges batteries that supply the motor with extra energy during sharp acceleration or steep climbs. The batteries also store energy recovered during braking.

More than 20 Dodge Sprinter PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle) vans are participating in a fleet test in the U.S. that will run until the spring of 2008. The vehicles are equipped with either a diesel or gasoline engine plus an electric motor; drivers can switch between the two systems at will. The vans have a range of up to 32 kilometers in the pure electric mode. The plug-in technology used here is ideal for commercial delivery applications in which vehicles return to a central depot after every shift, where they are recharged from a socket.

Daimler's Freightliner subsidiary in the U.S. has also developed a hybrid van in cooperation with Eaton. The FedEx parcel company is now testing 18 of the models.

Daimler's Japanese commercial vehicle subsidiary, Mitsubishi Fuso, uses a series hybrid urban bus for its Aero Star low-floor bus. Test drives under real conditions were held for the model during the Soccer World Cup in Japan in 2002. The hybrid bus is now in series production and the first units are running in regular service.

In 2006, Fuso introduced the Canter Eco Hybrid, the world's cleanest light truck. The vehicle's dual-drive system consists of a three-liter turbo diesel engine, an electric motor, high-performance lithium-ion batteries, and an automated manual transmission. The truck is driven by either a diesel engine, an electric motor, or both, depending on the situation. This reduces emissions of particulates by 46% and of nitrogen oxides by 41%. The vehicle's braking energy recovery system produces fuel savings of up to 20%.

Mercedes-Benz will present a prototype of its Citaro G Hybrid urban bus before the year is out. The vehicle is powered by a diesel-electric drive system whose fuel consumption and CO2 emissions have been reduced by 20% to 30%. The articulated bus has a series hybrid drive that can run completely on batteries — and thus with no emissions — over short distances. Testing will begin in 2008; the series production launch is scheduled for 2009.

Rather than providing continuous driving power, the diesel engine in the Citaro G Hybrid operates as a generator to produce electrical power when required. The energy it produces is stored in maintenance-free lithium-ion batteries housed on the roof of the bus. The batteries are also charged by energy recuperation from braking. The four wheels on the center and rear axle are powered by electric hub motors with a total output of 320 kW/435 hp.

In 2006, the Mercedes-Benz Hybrid Sprinter became the first hybrid van to be tested in tough every day conditions by customers throughout Europe. The first model was tested by the FedEx parcel company in Paris. The Hybrid Sprinter has a 115 kW diesel engine with direct injection and an electric motor with an output of 70 kW. A 15 kWh lithium-ion battery is stored in the vehicle's underbody, which means no space is taken up in the cargo area.

The results of the tests are providing developers with valuable information on the Hybrid Sprinter, which can be built in several variants — from a micro hybrid with a start/stop mechanism to a full hybrid with two linked drive systems and energy-storage batteries.

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