DAIMLER TRUCK
“ Trucks typically don’ t evoke the same emotions in people as passenger cars but they are a very important part of the economy and infrastructure, especially in the US,” Lutz explains.“ Trucks are needed for logistics, transportation and to support various industries – from manufacturing and agriculture to energy and healthcare.”
This essential nature of commercial vehicles makes the technological transitions facing the industry all the more significant. Having accelerated its efforts to develop technologies for its on-highway and vocational vehicle products, the company now offers a full suite of electric vehicles, develops autonomous driving capabilities and increasingly embeds software within its vehicles.
Lutz explains:“ As IT, we also drive technology adoption and develop solutions across the company and business processes. For example, in 2020 we launched our next-generation e-commerce platform‘ Excelerator’ which connects our customers to our distribution network allowing them to get the right vehicle parts at the right place and time, which brings down vehicle repair times.”
Electrification of the trucking industry Electrification represents one of the biggest changes in the commercial vehicle industry’ s history. Unlike passenger cars, where consumer preferences can drive adoption, commercial vehicles face more complex operational and infrastructure requirements.
“ Electrification needs to be looked at in a broader way,” says Lutz.“ When you look at sustainability and environmental themes, there are a lot of advancements with traditional combustion engines that are part of the picture.”
While Daimler Truck is committed to electrification, there are prerequisites for widespread adoption. Central among these is charging infrastructure, reliable power generation and grid locations – all of which remain underdeveloped in many regions. In addition, the total cost of ownership over a truck’ s lifetime currently favours high-performing diesel vehicles than electric alternatives.
“ You need to have robust charging infrastructure in place to run electric trucks, and we need to bring the total cost of ownership down to drive mass adoption,” he explains.“ This is not necessarily all in place yet. The requirements on the truck side are
“ The way we developed an application five years ago – today, you can do that completely differently”
LUTZ BECK, CIO, DAIMLER TRUCK NORTH AMERICA
6 daimlertruck. com