Daimler Is Building Electric Garbage Trucks

Group Daimler Trucks & Buses announced this week that they have production-ready, fully electric garbage trucks ready to roll.

If you think about it, garbage trucks are perfectly suited for electric power. They travel at low speeds, make frequent stops and need massive torque. A garbage truck’s route, travel distance and stopping points are planned in advance. All the stop-and-go driving adds to their efficiency with the help of regenerative braking. All of these factors make them the ideal candidate for electric power.

Dubbed the eEconic line, the new trucks will be based on Daimler’s existing eActros electric truck platform, which features a 250 kW motor powered by a 240 kWh battery. Other new features include Daimler’s “DirectVision” cab, which is much lower than traditional trash haulers. This feature, combined with a panoramic windscreen and glazed passenger door will give operators the ability to see their immediate surroundings clearly, providing a much safer environment for pedestrians.

Dr. Ralf Forcher, Head of Marketing, Sales and Service, Mercedes-Benz Special Trucks said in a press release this week, “The eEconic is a major milestone for the sustainable organization of municipal logistics. Thanks to its application profile, the vehicle is ideally suited for electrification due to its application profile, for example in waste collection with stop-and-go traffic and plannable daily tours. It combines two important features, especially for use in urban areas: It is locally emission-free and very quiet.”

Customer testing of the eActros series trucks has been underway for the past 2 years. Customer testing of the new eEconic line will begin next year with the full series production slated for early 2022.

Just think, future generations will never experience getting woken up by a garbage truck’s diesel roar early in the morning.