Electric trucks will bring substantial job cuts

 The transition to electric trucks will bring substantial job cuts over the next 15 years, according to Martin Daum, CEO of Daimler Trucks. The German manager has indicated that the transition to 'zero emissions' electric trucks will be accompanied by job cuts in European truck engine factories, eliminating half of the jobs in some cases.

Daimler Trucks, which brings together several brands with Mercedes-Benz at the helm, is currently the largest truck manufacturer in the world and is moving towards electrification, with both battery and fuel cell electric trucks powered by hydrogen. In both cases, both batteries and fuel cells have fewer moving parts and require less labour than combustion engines and a conventional powertrain.


Mercedes-Benz eActros electric truck


The German company predicts that zero-emission vehicles will represent 60% of its sales in 2030 and 100% of sales in 2039. However, Daum has pointed out that the construction of a hydrogen supply infrastructure is "crucial" for convincing customers to buy a fuel cell truck: "If we had the trucks today that we will have in 2025 and beyond, we would not sell a single one because we do not have a hydrogen supply network."

Daimler Trucks announced an agreement with Shell whereby they will launch hydrogen refuelling stations in Rotterdam (the Netherlands), Cologne and Hamburg (Germany) from 2024.


Now, the company is focusing on increasing profit margins by 2025, particularly in Europe, reducing product complexity (and therefore costs) and improving the service quality. To achieve greater operational independence, the Daimler Trucks truck division has recently been separated from its parent, Daimler AG.


Also, intending to reduce development costs for hydrogen trucks, Daimler has created a joint venture with Volvo, through which they will develop the technology for their future heavy-duty hydrogen-electric trucks. The two companies will sell their products separately, as before, but will share the fuel cell-based electric drive.


Mercedes has already begun testing the  Mercedes-Benz GenH2, a hydrogen-electric truck of 40 tons, which promises more than 1,000 kilometres of autonomy and the new Mercedes-Benz eActros electric truck has just been launched. The first tests with customers are planned for 2023, although its series production will have to wait until 2027.

Mercedes-Benz eActros electric truck


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