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Customer LoginsIAA 2016: Focus on Daimler's electric truck at Europe's biggest truck show
The European truck-makers gather in Hanover this week to show their latest products and technology, with electrification and enhanced core product lines on the agenda.
IHS Automotive Perspective
- Significance: The 66th IAA Hanover commercial vehicle show gets under way this week, and will showcase the technology developments, especially in the field of autonomous driving and operating efficiency improvements, that the industry has to offer.
- Implications: The show is set to highlight the increasing efforts that VW is making to challenge Daimler Trucks as the world's number one OEM in terms of sales volumes through its Truck & Bus Gmbh unit, which is focused on closer integration of Scania and MAN and which has also been in the spotlight recently for its purchase of a stake in Navistar, which will give it access to the North American market.
- Outlook: The Daimler electric truck concept is some way of becoming a commercial reality but it indicates the ways in which the industry is embracing new technology paradigms which will see momentous changes over the next decades.
Europe's heavy truck industry showcase, the IAA Commercial Vehicle show, begins this week with the European OEMs showing off their latest production-ready technology in the field of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). While Daimler has an important concept that could be the pre-cursor to a production heavy truck. Here we look at what the major OEMs will have on offer at the show.
Daimler
Daimler is showing the first serious attempt by a major truck OEM to build an electric heavy truck with the Urban eTruck concept. The concept is based on the Mercedes-Benz heavy-duty three-axle short-radius distribution truck, with the conventional powertrain removed and replaced with a battery pack made up of three modules of lithium-ion batteries with a total capacity of 212 kWh. This gives the Urban eTruck a range of 200 km, which is enough effective range for a daily delivery round. Daimler claims that in combination with gearing, torque at each wheel is rated up to 11,000 Nm. The battery pack can be modified to add or take away cells depending on range and payload requirements. In terms of new tech that is available for customers today Daimler will also demonstrate its upgraded Active Brake Assist system. Now in its fourth iteration (ABA 4) the new generation recognizes pedestrians, timely warning of an accident and passes in doubt a partial braking. Automatic warning and braking responses take effect when the presence of a pedestrian is detected up to a speed of 50km/h. The system also monitors other road traffic and stationary objects and the radar sensors managing the lane changing system now monitor the flanks of the truck to a width of 3.75 metres and a length of 18.75 metres. In powertrain terms Daimler will show the new OM 470 engine series which has all the enhanced efficiency features fitted to the larger OM471 unit, including increased injection pressure and compression, which also boosts power at lower engine speeds. The Future Bus will also be on display. The prototype has full autonomous capability based on Daimler's City Pilot system. At the same time a sensor scans the environment around bus stops before automatically stopping. The system then opens the door and closes them, before driving off.
Scania
The premium Swedish heavy truck-maker, which has now been integrated into the Volkswagen (VW) Group's new heavy vehicle unit, VW Truck & Bus GmbH, has a world premier in the shape of the R-Series heavy truck range, while the S models will also be on display. There is a heavy emphasis on maximising aerodynamic efficiency with both trucks, with Scania claiming the new trucks are 5% more efficient than the brand's previous efficiency champion, the Streamline in 2013, and that they are the most efficient on the market. There are also new and more efficient engines. The engine line-up has power outputs between 410hp and 730hp, with the revised powertrains getting new fuel injectors, revised combustion chambers and a reconfigured cooling system. Three models will be SCR-only (410hp, 450hp and 500hp) with the new 13-litre 500hp unit a new engine. The range-topping 15.6-litre V-8s continue with the same power outputs found in the current R-series with 520hp, 580hp and 730hp, all using a combination of EGR and SCR. In addition, the cab has been redesigned to provide greater driver comfort and space. For drag reduction strategies, there are air deflectors to improve the alignment between the cab and the trailer roof, as well as new smaller gaps between the lights and other external components. The trucks have been under development for 10 years at a cost of SEK20 billion (USD2.23 billion) Scania is also debuting the first ever truck side airbags which are integrated through the doors and through the roof of the cab.
MAN
The other major arm of VW's heavy vehicle unit, MAN, is showing the latest versions of its new range of "future-proof" trucks at the IAA Commercial Vehicles fair at Hannover next month, according to a company statement. The firm will show improvements to its heavy truck ranges encompassing powertrains, performance optimisation and driving dynamics. The biggest upgrade will involve the latest generation of the company's TipMatic transmission, which will reduce fuel consumption through quicker gear changes. The new system calculates a range of parameters, including accelerator pedal position, vehicle mass and driving resistance to determine the optimum switching speed for every situation. A new variant of the MAN EfficientCruise anticipatory cruise control is also now available which works via GPS and which is aimed at working out the immediate driving environment in terms of topography. The latest TGX and TGX D38 models, both of which will be available with the aforementioned technologies, while it will also reveal a revised version of the TGS which will feature the new MAN D26 engine with improvements aimed at lowering fuel costs and increasing operating efficiency, including lower servicing costs and off-road time. The latest TGX EfficientLine 3 will also be on display which features as standard, lightweight and aerodynamic solutions, as well as driver assist systems such as MAN EfficientCruise and MAN EfficientRoll.
Volvo
Volvo will display a revised version of the FH-Series A new spoiler lip at the front is added to improve aerodynamics and efficiency, and the improved I-Shift transmission is configured to minimise losses in momentum during gearshifts and boost efficiency as much as possible. Volvo also wants to make itself the industry leader in terms of lightweighting and has a new variant of the FM tractor unit with enhanced weight savings, while that truck range also has a range-topping variant with more power at 350 bhp from the six-cylinder, 8-litre powertrain. The company will also have its D13 powertrain on show with a higher compression ratio and an improved turbocharger.
Renault
Volvo subsidiary Renault Trucks is also offering its OptiTrack system now also for the "C" model range of construction trucks. The system is a four-wheel drive transmission, but unlike conventional all-wheel drive layouts the French OEM has fitted two switchable hydraulic motors in the wheel hubs of the front axles for extra traction. OptiTrack works in both forward and backward and up to a speed of 25 km/h and has been developed for construction site work.
Outlook and implications
The big technology introduction at the IAA has to be seen as Daimler's electric truck. Although it remains simply a technology showcase at this point the fact that Daimler has come up with a concept truck which would have been unthinkable as little as a decade ago. The weight of the battery pack, as well as its obvious packaging requirements, has until now stymied the creation of a fully electric heavy-duty truck. However, the progress that has been made in cell development in terms of increasing power storage and lowering cost means that this concept is now a viable one. The company claims that between 1997 and 2025, cell costs will have fallen by 60%, while power will have increased by 250% over the same period. The concept will work for heavy trucks up to 26 tonnes and is obviously best suited to inner-city delivery roles rather than on-highway use. The power required for an electric truck to drive at cruising speed on a motorway or autobahn would give such a vehicle a very short range indeed. Daimler's electric truck concept will also be helped towards becoming a commercial reality by planned changes by the European Commission in favour of raising the gross vehicle weight of three-axle rigid trucks from 25 to 26 tonnes, which will help cancel out the weight penalty incurred by the battery and electric drivetrain. Elsewhere, the European truck-makers are looking to move on from a difficult year in which they were fined by the European Commission for price collusion. This will place enhanced emphasis on European brands differentiating themselves with regards to current product technology and pricing, with a focus on ramping up ADAS offerings and honing conventional powertrain efficiency, although this may prove difficult in some cases as the industry moves to increased commonality in some areas, with collaboration between MAN and Scania on transmissions and powertrains a notable example. In terms of the wider European market, IHS Automotive is forecasting a steady performance for medium and heavy trucks in 2016 with a 1% uplift to 422,265 units, although we are expecting an acceleration in sales long-term to 529,396 units by 2020.
About this article
The above article is from IHS Automotive Same-Day Analysis of automotive news, events and trends, and is a deliverable of the World Markets Automotive Service. The service averages thirty stories per day and also provides competitor and country intelligence. Get a free trial.