Mercedes 2010 Annual Report Download - page 146

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The Mercedes-Benz Citaro FuelCELL Hybrid bus features a highly
ecological concept. It generates no pollutant emissions and is
almost noiseless, making it ideal for use in congested downtown
areas. To date, a total of 36 Mercedes-Benz Citaro fuel-cell
buses have proven their worth with 12 public transport operators
on three continents. Mercedes-Benz buses have demonstrated
the suitability of fuel-cell drive for everyday use in more than
140,000 hours of operation, during which they were driven
more than 2.2 million kilometers.
German Sustainability Award for the Mercedes-Benz Atego
BlueTec Hybrid. The prize presented in November 2010 by
the German Sustainability Award Foundation honors companies
that combine business success with social responsibility and
nature conservation. The award jury came to the conclusion that
the Mercedes-Benz Atego BlueTec Hybrid is an environmentally
friendly vehicle with which Daimler is setting benchmarks world-
wide. The Mercedes-Benz Atego’s innovative hybrid drive marks
the first time that Daimler is offering this especially low-emission
technology in Europe ex works. Parallel hybrid drive reduces
fuel consumption and exhaust emissions by up to 15% and also
makes it possible to reduce noise. The first batch of 50 Atego
BlueTec Hybrids was delivered to German customers in the distri-
bution sector in early 2011. The Mercedes-Benz Atego BlueTec
Hybrid underscores our position as the world market leader for
hybrid-drive commercial vehicles.
The Mercedes-Benz Citaro G BlueTec Hybrid in everyday use.
The new Citaro G BlueTec Hybrid buses, which have been put
into service in several European cities since early 2010, cut die-
sel consumption and CO2 emissions by 20 to 30% and operate
without emissions and almost noiselessly for portions of a route.
To date, the Citaro G BlueTec Hybrid is the only hybrid bus that
can cover some of its route almost noiselessly while running
solely on electricity, without using the diesel engine. Propulsion
is provided by four electric wheel-hub motors that obtain their
electricity from one of the world’s largest lithium-ion batteries in
mobile use. If required, electricity can also be provided by a gener-
ator driven by a diesel engine that is relatively small for the Citaro’s
vehicle class. Electricity is also generated when braking during
downhill driving, for example.
Innovative concepts for urban mobility. Existing infrastructure
and transportation systems are increasingly reaching their limits,
particularly when it comes to fulfilling the need for fast and com-
fortable transport in metropolitan areas. But these are exactly
the applications that offer great opportunities for new and sus-
tainable mobility concepts such as car2go, car2gether, and Bus
Rapid Transit.
The innovative car2go mobility concept, which we launched in
Ulm, Germany, in March 2009 and in Austin, Texas, in November
2009, is particularly notable for its flexibility. The car2go vehicles
are distributed throughout their respective operating areas,
where they can be rented on the spur of the moment, used as
long as desired, and left in any parking space within the system’s
operating area. The number of customers in Ulm rose to more than
20,500 in 2010, and over 230,000 rental contracts were pro-
cessed completely automatically. In Austin, meanwhile, around
15,000 users rented the vehicles more than 120,000 times. In
response to this success, car2go will now be introduced in addi-
tional cities worldwide. Beginning in spring 2011, for example,
we will offer car2go in Hamburg, Germany, in cooperation with
the car rental company Europcar. The vehicle used will be the
smart car2go edition – the world’s first car-sharing automobile to
be produced for this purpose ex works. Among other things, this
model has a more fuel-efficient gasoline engine, automatic trans-
mission with start/stop function, an all-new generation of telematic
systems and a solar roof.
Following car2go, Daimler developed another innovative urban
mobility concept known as car2gether, which was launched last
autumn with two pilot projects in Ulm and Aachen, Germany.
The concept encompasses an online ride-sharing community and
takes advantage of the many communication possibilities of
mobile Internet applications. This system enables users to organize
ride-sharing opportunities on their smartphones while they are
on the go or on their computers at home, almost in real time.
Daimler is the world’s first automaker to test this kind of mobility
in a pilot project, investigating the potential of a smart and
mod ern ride-sharing service that was designed especially for
metropolitan areas.
Citaro G BlueTec Hybrid: milestone for fuel efficiency and low emissions.