Designed from the ground-up to work in densely-populated areas, the Econic is known for its excellent visibility, practicality and active safety features.
Adding to these characteristics, the eEconic will also produce zero local emissions and the powertrain will operate near-silently.
Three eEconic trucks will be part of a validation trial in Australia, while one will operate in New Zealand.
Production of the ground-breaking eEconic recently began at the Mercedes-Benz Trucks factory in Worth, Germany.
Mercedes-Benz Trucks Australia Pacific Director, Andrew Assimo, says the Econic makes a lot of sense as an electric vehicle.
“Waste collection represents the perfect application for a near-silent electric truck that produces zero local emissions as these vehicles operate on the doorsteps of our community,” Mr Assimo says.
“We are excited to work with our Australian and New Zealand customers to validate the remarkable zero emission eEconic, which is also fully-loaded with the latest Mercedes-Benz Trucks active safety technology,” he concludes.
The eEconic validation trial announcement comes soon after Mercedes-Benz Trucks confirmed it was also conducting a local validation trial of the eActros electric truck, with four units to operate in Australia and one running in New Zealand, with additional units to follow.
Daimler Truck has extensive experience with electric commercial vehicles and was the first manufacturer with an all-electric truck when the Fuso eCanter broke new ground when it was launched locally in 2021.
Customers on both sides of the Tasman Sea have embraced the all-electric eCanter, appreciating the near smooth and quiet operation, active safety features, ease of use and original equipment manufacturer backing.
The eEconic uses much the same electric drivetrain as the eActros. It has been designed to cover the vast majority of typical waste collection routes operated by an Econic in a single shift without intermediary charging.
The electric drivetrain enables a level cab floor to be used, allowing easy movement through the the cab. This is particularly advantageous when the driver wishes to leave the vehicle through the folding door on the co-driver's side, well out of the way of traffic.
The start of eEconic production represented another milestone on Daimler Truck's path to CO2-neutral transport. In order to contribute to the decarbonisation of the commercial vehicle industry, the company is pursuing the goal of putting CO2-neutral transport on the roads by 2050.
The group therefore aims to sell only CO2-neutral vehicles in its biggest sales regions of North America, Europe and Japan from 2039 forward.