The International Truck of the Year jury has announced the second of its annual awards and the prize for innovation goes to…Mercedes-Benz Trucks, which has won the 2021 edition of the Truck Innovation Award for its electromobility solutions with its eActros battery-electric heavy-duty truck (BEV), which is planned to go into series production in 2021, and its Mercedes-Benz GenH2 Truck, a hydrogen-based fuel-cell electric concept truck (FCEV), which is planned to start operational customer trials in 2023.
The prestigious award was symbolically handed over to Martin Daum, Chairman of the Board of Management, Daimler Truck and Sven Ennerst, Head of Daimler Trucks Product Engineering, with a video clip at the headquarter in Stuttgart, Germany.
The Truck Innovation trophy, which acknowledges both the enormous technological changes and the energy transition that are taking place within the automotive sector, has been awarded by the International Truck of the Year (IToY) jury, a group of 25 commercial vehicle editors and senior journalists, representing major trucking magazines from Europe and South Africa.
With a winning score of 128 votes, Mercedes-Benz’s electric trucks fought off the competition from Volvo Trucks’ heavy-duty BEV concepts and DAF’s 2nd Generation CF Electric.
The International Truck of the Year jury, who had the chance to get to know the previous prototype of the eActros and the latest closer-to-the-series-production-vehicle, praised the handling characteristics of the battery-powered truck in distribution applications and its performance in terms of acceleration and driveability. Moreover, the IToY journalists praised the user-friendliness for a quick and easy transition from a conventional internal combustion engine vehicle.
Finally, the IToY jury members appreciated Mercedes-Benz Trucks comprehensive approach to electro-mobility, based on a clear-cut long-term strategy, on a global modular electric powertrain platform and on in-house development of main critical components. It’s a wide-range solution portfolio, which spans from the pre-production eActros to the battery powered eActros Long Haul, to the fuel-cell liquid-hydrogen concept GenH2 Truck for long-haulage applications.
Summing up the jury vote, International Truck of the Year Chairman Gianenrico Griffini commented:
“Shaping CO2 neutral transport requires the swift development of battery-electric and fuel cell trucks. This development needs to be supported by a long-term electro-mobility strategy, which is precisely what Mercedes-Benz Trucks is doing.”
According to IToY rules, the prize for innovation goes to… a Truck Innovation Award nominee which must be an advanced-technology vehicle with a gross vehicle weight over 3.5-tonnes either fitted with an alternative driveline or have an alternative fuel-system. Otherwise, it must feature specific high-tech solutions with regard to connectivity (whether semi or fully autonomous driving systems) a “platooning” capability, or advanced support services such as remote diagnostics.
