Mercedes 2013 Annual Report Download - page 107

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C | Combined Management Report | Sustainability
Innovative technologies for locally emission-free mobility
will enable us to further reduce the fuel consumption and CO2
emissions of our vehicles. Our goal is to reduce the CO2
emissions of our new-vehicle fleet in the European Union to
125 g/km by 2016. We have also continuously reduced the
pollutant emissions of our cars in recent years: by more than
80% since 1995 and by 23% in the past five years. We have
achieved even more dramatic reductions with our BlueTEC diesel
cars. Thanks to BLUETEC technology, we are a world leader
for diesel vehicles. Automobiles equipped with this technology
conform to the strictest emissions standards and are the
cleanest diesel cars in the world. Moreover, the percentage
of our new cars equipped with state-of-the-art Euro 6 tech-
nology is significantly higher than that of any other manufacturer.
Economical and low-emission commercial vehicles.
We have also continuously reduced emissions of CO2 and other
pollutants from our commercial vehicles in recent years.
Along with the introduction of BLUETEC technology, these
reductions have been achieved through more efficient new
engines, axle ratios better suited to specific needs, and improve-
ments in tires and aerodynamics. Daimler is the first manu-
facturer to offer its entire European product range in a Euro VI
version. This development began in 2011 with the launch
of the new Actros for long-distance road haulage. It was followed
in 2012 by the Antos for heavy-duty distribution transportation.
In 2013, we introduced the Arocs for the construction sector and
the Atego for light-duty distribution transportation. We com-
pleted our Mercedes-Benz Trucks product offensive with the
Mercedes-Benz Unimog and Mercedes-Benz Econic special
vehicles, which have been rolling off the assembly line in Wörth
equipped with BLUETEC 6 technology since the fourth quarter
of 2013. Despite complex exhaust-gas aftertreatment, our new
Euro VI engines consume up to 4% less fuel than the prede-
cessor Euro V engines. We are also leading the way with the
introduction of the latest exhaust technology in the bus sector.
All Mercedes-Benz and Setra model series are now available
with Euro VI technology. In 2013, we also set a new benchmark
for fuel efficiency on the North American truck market with
the launch of our new heavy-duty Freightliner Cascadia Evolution.
Thanks to its new Detroit DD15 engine equipped with proven
Daimler BLUETEC exhaust technology and its improved aerody-
namics, the new heavy-duty truck consumes 7% less fuel
than the predecessor model. This was measured and confirmed
by an independent agency in the course of a one-week test
drive across the United States.
Hybrid technology can also greatly reduce the consumption
of diesel fuel – particularly in buses and in commercial vehicles
used for distribution transportation. For example, the FUSO
Canter Eco Hybrid consumes up to 23% less fuel than a compa-
rable diesel truck, depending on use, and the Freightliner
M2e Hybrid consumes up to 30% less fuel than a conventional
diesel-powered M2 106. No other commercial vehicle manu-
facturer has more experience or has done more testing
in the areas of alternative drive systems and electric mobility.
We also have the most extensive lineup of series-production
vehicles in this field, ranging from vans and trucks to buses.
On the road worldwide, there are more than 1.2 million environ-
mentally friendly Daimler commercial vehicles equipped
with SCR technology, as well as a further 21,000 vehicles
with alternative drive technology.
In Europe, we aim to reduce the fuel consumption of our truck
fleet by an average of 20% between 2005 and 2020. Compared
with the year 2005, we already achieved a reduction of 10%
in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions with the launch of the
new Actros model series in 2011, and we are working system-
atically on achieving the next 10%.
First series-produced Euro VI-compliant regular-service
bus. The new Mercedes-Benz Citaro is the first regular-service
bus with engines that conform to the Euro VI emissions
standards to go into series production significantly in advance
of the new emission standards. The emissions of a Citaro
equipped with Euro VI exhaust technology have been reduced
by about 80% compared to those of its predecessors, which
significantly improves the quality of the urban environment.
At the same time, fuel costs for bus operators are being reduced,
because the new city buses consume around 8% less diesel
fuel. Economy is improved through an intelligent combination
of an all-new engine generation and the supply of power to
auxiliary systems from an energy recovery module. By the end
of 2013, approximately 1,200 Mercedes-Benz and Setra
buses equipped with environmentally friendly Euro VI exhaust
technology had already been delivered to customers.
FUSO Canter Eco Hybrid and Daimler FleetBoard receive
sustainability award. Daimler Trucks was presented with the
“European Transport Award for Sustainability 2014” for two of
its products in November 2013. This international award is given
by the editors of “Transport,” the newspaper for the freight
transport sector. Representatives from business, research and
the media make up the seven-member panel that judged
the applications submitted. The panel members made their
choices based on the criteria of economy, environmental
impact and social responsibility. The FUSO Canter Eco Hybrid
won by a sizable margin in the category “Distribution trans-
portation truck up to 12 tons.” The truck’s great economy is due
to its highly efficient enhanced drive technology. The Global
Hybrid Center in Japan developed a parallel hybrid architecture
in which a supplementary electric motor is located between
the clutch and the transmission. The FUSO Canter Eco Hybrid’s
drive technology is based on this architecture. The new Canter
Eco Hybrid’s operating strategy is to start moving using only
the electric drive. This also makes it very quiet. The diesel
engine engages at a speed of around ten kilometers per hour.
Depending on how much power is needed, the electric
motor also supports the diesel engine for acceleration at
higher speeds.
The Daimler FleetBoard consulting service was awarded first
prize in the category “Driver and transportation management
systems.” Many transport companies use the FleetBoard
consultants to sustainably integrate telematics and transport
management into the existing IT landscape and thus improve
their transportation processes. Moreover, FleetBoard helps
its clients to permanently cut fuel consumption and reduce wear
and tear by adopting an efficient driving style. Taken together,
these measures make a company’s operations noticeably more
sustainable. In this way a smaller CO2 footprint is achieved
along the entire logistics chain.