The concept truck celebrated its world premiere in September 2020. In late April 2021 Daimler Truck began to conduct extensive tests with the first enhanced prototype focusing among other things on continuous operation, different weather and road conditions, and various driving maneuvers. Currently, the further enhanced prototype of the hydrogen-based fuel-cell truck Mercedes-Benz GenH2 Truck is being tested on public roads after receiving approval from German authorities for use on public roads. Daimler Truck plans to hand over first series-produced GenH2 Truck to customers within the second half of the decade. The goal: ranges of up to 1,000 kilometers and more on a single tank by using liquid hydrogen. Daimler Trucks prefers to use liquid hydrogen (LH2), because in this state, the energy carrier has a far higher energy density in relation to volume than gaseous hydrogen. As a result, the tanks of a fuel-cell truck using liquid hydrogen are much smaller and, due to the lower pressure, significantly lighter. This gives the trucks a larger cargo space and higher payload weight. At the same time, more hydrogen can be carried, which significantly increases the trucks’ range. This makes the GenH2 Truck in its series version, like conventional diesel trucks, suitable for multi-day, difficult to plan long-haul transport and where the daily energy throughput is high.

Already in September 2023, Daimler Truck successfully demonstrated that hydrogen fuel-cell technology can be the right solution to decarbonize flexible and demanding long-haul road transportation. A public road approved prototype of the Mercedes-Benz GenH2 Truck completed Daimler Truck’s #HydrogenRecordRun covering 1,047 km of distance driven with one fill of liquid hydrogen. First fuel-cell trucks are expected to be tested in customer hands in the coming years.

In October 2023 Mercedes-Benz Trucks has unveiled the series version of the first battery-electric long-haul truck with the three-pointed star. With the heavy-duty eActros 600, the manufacturer plans to define the new standard in road freight transport – in terms of technology, sustainability, design and profitability for e-fleet operators. The high battery capacity of more than 600 kilowatt hours and a new, particularly efficient electric drive axle developed in-house, enable the e-truck to achieve a range of 500 kilometers without intermediate charging. Visually, the e-truck is characterized by a fundamentally new, puristic design with clear lines and an aerodynamic shape.

The Mercedes-Benz eActros ist the first electric truck to bear the three-pointed star and marks an important step in achieving CO₂-neutral road-based goods transport. The findings from the "eActros innovation fleet" which started in 2018 and the close exchanges with customers have been incorporated into the development of the series-production model. The eActros is in series-production since October 2021.

The technological centrepiece of the electric truck is the drive unit – a rigid electric axle with two integrated electric motors and a two-speed transmission. Both liquid-cooled motors generate a continuous output of 330 kW as well as a top performance of 400 kW. Plus, if the vehicle is driven particularly foresightedly, recuperation enables the vehicle to recover electrical energy. The energy obtained in this way during braking is fed back into the batteries of the eActros and is again made available for use by the drive system. The battery of the eActros series-production model is equipped with either three or four battery packs. The eActros can be charged with up to 160 kW: When connected to a regular 400A DC charging station, the three battery packs need a little longer than 1 hour to charge from 20 to 80 percent. (Based on internally determined empirical values under optimal conditions, including an ambient temperature of 20°C.)

With the new eActros 300 tractor unit model variant, we are consistently expanding the range of applications for the eActros. The eActros 300 tractor unit is particularly well suited for flexible use in heavy-duty distribution haulage. The tractor unit is based on the same technology as the eActros 300 and the eActros 400 as a solo vehicle or a drawbar combination. The vehicle can pull all common European semitrailers, taking into account the maximum permissible overall vehicle combination length. Like the eActros 300 and the eActros 400, the tractor unit is offered as an integrated solution including consultation and charging infrastructure solutions. Series production is scheduled to start in the second half of 2023.

Since July 2022, Daimler Truck has been manufacturing the new Mercedes-Benz eEconic, the special truck for municipal waste disposal, in series production.The new eEconic is perfect for applications in urban areas with frequent stops and is designed to cover the vast majority of typical Econic waste collection routes in single-shift operation without intermediate charging. The electric drivetrain makes it possible to have a level cab floor, thus facilitating cross-cab access; this is particularly advantageous if the driver wants to get out through the folding door on the front passenger side where there is no traffic. The deep panoramic windscreen of the DirectVision cab provides the driver with direct visual contact with other road users and enables an extremely good overview of the traffic.

With the all-electric Mercedes-Benz eCitaro, Daimler Buses has offered a locally emission-free city bus for environmentally friendly public transport in cities and metropolitan areas since 2018. The model range of the eCitaro has since been successively expanded. Since 2020 the eCitaro is available as an articulated bus.

With its charging technology, the electric bus adapts to the individual requirements of public transport companies. Innovative thermal management ensures efficient energy consumption and forms the foundation that enables a practical range. Without interim charging it can already cover about one-third of the relevant public transport routes. Production of the battery-electric eCitaro is running at a standard rate at the Daimler Buses facility in Mannheim.

The Mercedes-Benz eCitaro is also the prelude to an innovation offensive for rapid and practical electrification of public transport with buses in cities and metropolitan areas. As the development of battery technology rapidly progresses, the eCitaro is already available with the next generation of lithium-ion batteries. Since the end of 2020, the eCitaro is on the market with solid-state batteries (lithium-polymer batteries). Currently in development a range extender for the eCitaro (hydrogen-based fuel cell will provide the high-voltage battery with power).

The all-electric city bus eCitaro is part of the eMobility system from Daimler Buses. In order to assist our customers with the conversion to electric bus fleets, our eMobility consulting team advises them to their desired extent on varied possible applications, including bus line lengths, passenger volumes, energy requirements, range calculations and charging management -- are all taken into account.

The fully electric eO500U bus chassis has been in series production at the Brazilian plant in São Bernardo do Campo since 2022 and is available in Brazil and in other selected Latin American countries. The eO500U is a model from the O-500 chassis-series, which is also the basis for the Mercedes-Benz Super Padron city bus. The low-floor vehicle can accommodate city bus bodies with a length of up to 13.2 meters and offers space for up to 86 passengers. It is driven by wheel hub motors on the rear axle. Taking into account the experience with the Mercedes-Benz eCitaro, the chassis was completely developed in Brazil and put through intensive tests by engineers from Daimler Buses in Germany and Brazil.

In 2018, the Freightliner eCascadia and the Freightliner eM2, the two electric flagships of Daimler Truck North America, celebrated their premiere in Portland; both models are now in series production and are being used successfully by customers. 

With its ePortfolio, Daimler Truck is the leader in electric trucks in the USA. And: Daimler Truck offers  - with the brands Freightliner and RIZON - the widest range of electric commercial vehicles of all OEMs in North America. 

The Freightliner eCascadia and eM2 are designed to meet the needs of customers for electric commercial vehicles that operate fixed, predictable routes where daily trips are mostly between about 80 and 350 kilometers. 

Penske Truck Leasing Corporation took delivery of its first eM2 at the end of 2018 and has been using the e-truck in local distribution operations in the north-west of the USA and California ever since. Since 2019, Penske Truck Leasing Corporation and NFI Industries have been using Freightliner eCascadia models for heavy-duty distribution transport. 

Freightliner Custom Chassis has had a fully electric walk-in van chassis in its range since 2020 with the MT50e. Daimler Truck Partner Proterra supplies the batteries. The locally emission-free vehicles are popular for last-mile deliveries. 

In November 2017, Thomas Built Buses presented the first fully electric school bus for series production. The US company Proterra supplies the batteries for the C2 Jouley, which can transport up to 81 children over distances of up to 240 kilometers (150 miles) to their schools  - on a single charge. The 1.000th C2 Jouley bus was delivered in spring 2024. 

n September 2017, the FUSO eCanter light truck celebrated its world premiere and subsequently went into small series production as Daimler Truck's first fully electric truck. 

Since the small series of the eCanter was launched, around 550 vehicles have been handed over to customers in Japan, Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand, covering a total of over eight million kilometers with zero local emissions.   

The next generation of the eCanter, which is available in a wide range of variants and with three different battery packs, was unveiled in fall 2022. With the experience of five years in real customer use, FUSO has developed the Next Generation eCanter, which offers even more diverse customer solutions with a significantly expanded vehicle range. The Next Generation eCanter is available around the world for example in Japan, Australia, New Zealand and a total of 31 European countries. Further market launches are announced to follow.  

The eCanter is produced at the Mitsubishi FUSO Truck and Bus Corporation plants in Kawasaki, Japan and Tramagal, Portugal. 

Daimler Truck presented its new RIZON brand in 2023, which offers fully electric medium-duty trucks (Class 4 and 5) for the North American market. With four model variants -  e18M, e18L, e16L and e16M - customers can choose between different ranges (about 120-250 km) for a variety of applications.