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Daimler, VW’s Traton and Volvo Join Forces for Major Shift on the Truck Market

At the rate things are going, by the time this decade ends, important regions of the world will no longer allow new vehicles to be made with internal combustion engines. That generally applies to passenger vehicles, but heavy trucks should not be far behind.
Mercedes-Benz eActros 21 photos
Photo: Mercedes-Benz
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Already some truck makers are hard at work trying to come up with electric heavy haulers, but there is one major problem that has to be dealt with before they become commonplace. Since you can’t just go and plug in a heavy truck at a regular charging station, a new, separate infrastructure has to be built.

Presently, in Europe, three truck makers battle for supremacy: Daimler, Volkswagen’s Traton, and Volvo. Generally enemies in all things commercial, the three just announced a mammoth partnership aiming to come up with just that—a charging infrastructure for trucks.

The trio of companies announced the creation of an Amsterdam, Netherlands-based joint venture (JV) that should begin operations next year. The JV will be equally owned by the three and funded with €500 million (almost $600 million) to install at least 1,700 charging points, within five years, in close vicinity of highways and at logistics and destination points.

According to the agreement, the stations should allow operators of electric haulers to recharge their batteries both during the 45-minute mandatory rest period in Europe, but also overnight.

Mind you, this is only the beginning, as the companies also announced their intention of attracting more partners and money into the idea, with the goal of becoming one of the pillars in Europe’s plan of achieving carbon neutrality in the truck segment by 2050.

For now, no indication of charging rates was given. Also, Daimler, Traton, and Volvo say that even if they are now partners in this field, they will remain competitors in all others.
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Editor's note: Gallery shows the Mercedes-Benz eActros.

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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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