Latin America. Mercedes Benz launched its eO500U electric bus chassis, which when developed in Brazil, would be the brand's first in Latin America. This has a range of up to 250 kilometers; and the battery charging system is the same as the one that Daimler Buses has installed in the eCitaro and that takes approximately three hours to fully charge.
At the moment its arrival on the market is scheduled for 2022, to meet the demand in the region, Europe, Oceania and Brazil, mainly for urban use. It is noteworthy that the eO500U represents the incursion into bus electromobility in Latin America. The urban bus that has this chassis will work with batteries and will represent a commitment to the environment, for its zero emissions at the local level, the contribution to the control of air pollution and the improvement in the quality of life in the cities where it operates.
According to Karl Deppen, president of Mercedes-Benz do Brasil & CEO Latin America, the strategic decision to present a solution in electromobility first in buses, more specifically in the urban segment, was thinking about the community, as well as the scenario of cities.
He added: "Buses share space in large cities with cars and people, bicycles, motorcycles and other means of locomotion. Those places are being prepared to receive new technologies for mobility, taking into account efficiency, economic development and environmental sustainability."
In turn, the company concluded through the statement that "bus companies and managers of the transport of people will have the provision of a specialized consultancy of Mercedes-Benz for the application and use of technology, support for infrastructure of energy supply and recharging of batteries, as well as assistance for fleet management with electric buses".
Investment for development
The brand indicates that this development of the chassis involved an investment of 100 million reais (about 20 million dollars), within a cycle of investments in Brazil that goes until 2022 and that amounts in total to more than 2,400 million reais (460 million dollars).
