In a joint announcement, Daimler Trucks and Volvo AB said that they aim to slash the cost of hydrogen fuel cells by at least five or six factors by 2027 to make zero-emission technology commercially viable for long-haul trucking.

Even if Cellcentric, the fuel-cell joint venture formed by the two companies in March, reduces costs by that much, Martin Daum, head of Daimler AG's truck unit, believes hydrogen-powered trucks will not reach cost parity with diesel models for at least 15 years.

The German and Swedish manufacturers of large freight-hauling trucks announced that Cellcentric would begin producing hydrogen fuel cells in Europe in 2025, and they urged EU policies to help build out fueling infrastructure as well as provide subsidies and tax breaks to help make hydrogen trucks affordable for customers who want zero-emission models.

Daum, "We can't save the world if we're bankrupt." "We have to cover our costs and investments, and our consumers have to cover their costs and investments as well."

"Ultimately, it's up to lawmakers to strike a balance because otherwise, our consumers won't be able to run it," he said.

Aside from the joint venture, the two businesses are still rivals. Both companies plan to begin testing fuel-cell trucks in three years and mass production in the second half of this decade.

Volvo CEO Martin Lundstedt said, "It's critical for us to put a stake in the ground now, be honest about the time schedule... and hope everyone will do their part."

The European Union has pushed for stricter emission requirements, which has fueled a surge in zero-emission electric vehicles.

However, electric vehicle batteries are large, and hydrogen fuel cells are considered a safer zero-emission option for long-haul freight. Fuel cells use hydrogen to generate energy and release only water.

By 2025, the two truck manufacturers want to construct about 300 hydrogen refueling stations for heavy-duty vehicles in Europe, and around 1,000 stations by 2030.

European Commissioner for Transport Adina Vălean said during a video conference with the two companies that the commission will propose a new alternative fuels directive this summer.

"This will include binding requirements for rolling out hydrogen fueling infrastructure... and financial support will be available where needed," she said.

Stellantis announced this year that it would begin delivering its first medium-sized vans powered by hydrogen fuel cells in Europe by the end of 2021.

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Daimler will cut 1,100 leadership positions worldwide, or about 10% of its management, German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung said on Friday, citing a newsletter circulated by the company's works council.

A spokeswoman for Daimler's works council referred to an internal letter circulated by works council chief Michael Brecht.

"The works council was recently informed by management about the personnel and financial situation of the company," Brecht told employees. "Talks have started, there are no results yet."

Daimler's works council rules out compulsory layoffs until 2030, Brecht said, adding that voluntary buyouts should be possible but only in a situation when both parties consent.

Daimler's new Chief Executive is due to give a strategy update, which could include cost measures, on Nov. 14.

Daimler said the carmaker was working on a cost analysis so that the car, truck and bus maker can remain competitive going forward. Details will be revealed during the carmaker's capital markets day.

"We are in constructive talks with employee representatives and cannot comment on speculation," Daimler said.

 

 

 

 

 

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Daimler AG's DAIGn.DE commercClass 8 trucks are semi-trucks and other large commercial vehicles with a carrying capacity exceeding 33,000 lb (14969 kg). The partnership accelerates a race to put automated heavy-duty trucks on the road, with a handful of powerful teams chasing commercial customers seeking to reduce dependence on human drivers.

Waymo Chief Executive John Krafcik said during a conference call that it will take time for major suppliers of Class 8 truck hardware to develop the braking, steering, and other technology required to bring a fully automated semi to market in high volume.

“These are super-long timelines,” he said.

The agreement is another win for Waymo as it tries to bring aboard more established vehicle makers. Waymo has also worked with U.S. truck maker PACCAR Inc PCAR.O, whose brands include Peterbilt and Kenworth, but said it does not have a formal development agreement with the Bellevue, Washington company. Daimler Trucks North America, whose brands include Freightliner and Western Star, and rival PACCAR together control more than 70 percent of the U.S. Class 8 heavy truck sector, according to John Stark, editor of Stark’s Truck & Off-Highway Ledger.

Martin Daum, head of Daimler Trucks, said the agreement with Waymo does not change the German company’s previously announced plan to spend 500 million euros on automated truck development. Daum and Roger Nielsen, head of Daimler Trucks North America, said Daimler’s in-house efforts to develop a robotic truck driver will continue.

“Having a dual strategy approach, working with Waymo and another company, gives our customers a choice,” Nielsen said.

Waymo has been working on self-driving vehicles for more than a decade, going back to when it was part of Alphabet’s Google unit. The group initially focused on Robo-taxis but in 2017 set up Waymo Via to build a goods delivery service using automated commercial vehicles, including heavy trucks. Daimler and PACCAR will square off against Tesla, which has said it plans to begin building its automated electric Semi truck next year at a new plant in Austin, Texas.

Other heavy truck makers planning to put automated vehicles into commercial service include Volkswagen AG's VOWG_p.DE Traton, which is working with Pittsburgh-based Argo and is negotiating the acquisition of Illinois-based Navistar International Corp NAV.N.

Swedish truck maker Volvo AB is collaborating with Silicon Valley chipmaker Nvidia CorpNVDA.O in its autonomous truck efforts. Navistar is working on automated vehicles with Chinese startup TuSimple, which in turn has development deals with Amazon AMZN.O and United Parcel Service UPS.N.UPS has its own automated commercial vehicle development agreement with Waymo.

Source:Reuters

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Daimler will be a smaller company five years from now, focused on capturing recurring revenues with software-based services as Mercedes-Benz seeks to redefine luxury in an era of electric self-driving cars, Chief Executive Ola Kaellenius said.
The Stuttgart-based company founded by Carl Benz, who patented the first gasoline-powered car in 1886, is accelerating plans to shift the carmaker beyond combustion-engine vehicles, a step which will result in job losses.

“The next five years we will become a smaller company,” Kaellenius told a Reuters Events broadcast on Thursday. “We will have a fundamental change in the industrial footprint on the powertrain side,” he said. Jobs will disappear because it takes less time to build an electric car than a conventional gasoline or diesel version. That’s because an electric car’s battery and motor have only 200 components, compared with at least 1,400 parts found in a combustion engine and transmission, according to analysts at ING.

The shift away from fossil fuel requires the carmaker to double down on efficiency so it can free up resources to build electric and self-driving cars, Kallenius said.
“We are hiring a lot of new software engineers, experts in battery chemistry, electrification,” he explained. Making Daimler smaller also fits with a new era where luxury no longer defines itself through opulence and excess but also through sustainability and efficiency. “There is no doubt in our minds that the footprint that this product leaves on this Earth needs to be smaller. That is part of the modern luxury promise,” Kaellenius said.

Mercedes-Benz is tapping engineering expertise from its Formula One team to build the EQXX, an electric vehicle that aims to be the most efficient vehicle capable of taking passengers from Stuttgart, Germany, to Marseille, France, on a single charge.

“It is a pre-development project to introduce new technologies,” Kaellenius said.
Daimler also wants to offer customers new digital services so it can make money with new, recurring sources of revenue such as assisted driving functionalities and infotainment services when it unveils a new vehicle car operating system in 2024.

“Think about it like an iPhone,” Kallenius said, explaining that with new software updates, new services and functions can be included. “You can add to it,” he said. “That’s the beauty of it.”To invest in digital tech, Daimler plans to tap growth in China, potentially by building new models in the market where Mercedes-Benz sees the biggest growth potential over the next 10 years. “If we have individual models which reach a critical mass in China ... that’s possible,” Kaellenius said, adding that no decision has been made to localize production of new models. “It depends on how the market develops,” he said.

Source: Reuters

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