Mercedes 2015 Annual Report Download - page 106

B | COMBINED MANAGEMENT REPORT | SUSTAINABILITY 113
Economical and low-emission commercial vehicles
In recent years, we have also continuously reduced the fuel
consumption of our commercial vehicles as well as their
emissions of CO2 and pollutants. Daimler was the first manu-
facturer to switch its entire European product range to Euro VI
before that new emissions standard went into effect in January
2014. Mercedes-Benz is achieving further efficiency gains with
the latest generation of the Mercedes-Benz OM 471 heavy-
duty engine, whose fuel consumption is up to 3% lower than
that of the predecessor unit, while the new engine also offers
higher torque and better driving performance. An Actros
semitrailer tractor equipped with this engine can save around
1,100 liters of fuel per year when driven over a distance of
130,000 km, which corresponds to a roughly three-ton reduc-
tion in annual CO2 emissions. The new engine is being used
in the heavy-duty Actros, Antos and Arocs trucks and puts all
of those models amongst the most efficient trucks in their
respective segments. Over the last four years, the fuel con-
sumption of our heavy-duty Actros truck has been reduced
by 13%, thanks in large part to the introduction of the new
model as a Euro VI truck, the use of the Predictive Powertrain
Control (PPC) cruise control system and the launch of the new
engine generation. Moreover, these savings were achieved
despite the fact that the truck is now more powerful than before
and produces lower levels of pollutant emissions. By com-
parison, long-term fuel-efficiency progress in the commercial
vehicle sector normally amounts to between 1.0% and 1.5%
per year.
Natural-gas engines also offer outstanding possibilities for
reducing fuel consumption and emissions. Daimler Trucks has
therefore supplemented its EURO VI engine family with the
new environmentally friendly M 936 G natural gas engine. The
new engine’s CO2 emissions are up to 20% lower than those
of diesel engines and can be reduced even further with the use
of biogas.
Our trucks also set the standards for fuel efficiency in North
America, where production of the new Western Star 5700 XE
was launched in May 2015. The truck stands out through its
sophisticated aerodynamic features and is also equipped with
a new highly efficient powertrain from our Detroit brand.
The Western Star 5700 XE consumes nearly 15% less fuel
than a comparable truck.
We are also leading the way with the introduction of the latest
exhaust technology in the bus sector. For example, all Mercedes-
Benz and Setra model series were made available with Euro VI
technology at a very early stage. A further reduction in the fuel
consumption of our already efficient buses will be achieved
through the use of the new generation of the OM 471 engine in
buses as well. E page 35
The consumption of diesel fuel can also be greatly reduced by
hybrid technology – particularly in vans and trucks used for
distribution transportation. For example, the FUSO Canter Eco
Hybrid consumes up to 23% less fuel than a comparable diesel
truck, depending on use, and the Freightliner M2e Hybrid con-
sumes up to 30% less fuel than a conventional diesel-powered
M2 106. No other commercial vehicle manufacturer has more
experience in the areas of alternative drive systems and
electric mobility. We also have the most extensive lineup of
vehicles in this field, ranging from vans and trucks to buses.
At the end of 2015, we completed a series of customer tests with
eight FUSO Canter E-Cell models in Portugal. Depending on
body type and payload, the Canter diesel truck can travel 100 km
on approximately 14 liters of diesel, while the FUSO Canter
E-Cell requires around 48 kWh of electricity for the same
distance. Based on the current cost of diesel fuel and elec-
tricity in Portugal, the Canter E-CELL offers operating cost
savings of more than 60% compared with a diesel truck.
In Europe, we plan to reduce the fuel consumption of our truck
fleet by an average of 20% over the period of 2005 to 2020.
We are confident that we will achieve this ambitious target and
took a further step in that direction with the introduction of
the new generation of the OM 471 heavy-duty engine in 2015.
Integrated approach reduces CO2 emissions on
long-distance truck journeys
Double-digit reductions in the fuel consumption and thus the CO2
emissions of modern truck combinations can be achieved by
using equipment and systems already available on the market.
This was demonstrated by a practical test whose results
Daimler Trucks presented in Berlin in October 2015. The field
test, which was known as the “Efficiency Run,” has major
implications in terms of achieving CO2 targets for road freight
transport. That is because the Efficiency Run showed that
fuel consumption, and therefore also CO2 emissions, can be
significantly reduced – and at a lower cost as well – if opti-
mization efforts focus not just on the engine but also on the
vehicle as a whole. In other words, this integrated approach
addresses the trailer, tires and fuel in addition to the tractor,
although it focuses on actual driving operation, infrastructure
and fleet modernization as well. The Efficiency Run demonstrated
that the integrated approach does in fact work.
Daimler Trucks conducted the series of tests in cooperation with
leading German logistics companies. Typical payloads were
transported in typical ways along typical routes under realistic
conditions. The tests were supervised in detail by the inde-
pendent DEKRA testing organization, which defined the test
conditions, carried out the measurements and evaluated
the results. One of the key results was that the two Mercedes-
Benz Actros standard semitrailer combinations that were
optimized for the Efficiency Run each consumed around 12%
to 14% less fuel than the standard semitrailer combinations
from the participating logistics companies. The Efficiency Run
also examined the potential of long combination vehicles –
with a clear result here as well: In the test, a long combination
vehicle displayed fuel consumption that was around 17%
lower than that of the standard semitrailer combination used
in volume-based transport.