Carsten Schneider, Federal Minister for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, and Alexander Schweitzer, Minister-President of Rhineland-Palatinate, visited the Mercedes-Benz truck plant in Wörth, a Daimler Truck location, today. The visit focused on a tour of the production facilities, discussions on the future of emission-free transport and the necessary charging infrastructure, and a visit to the development and testing center at the Wörth site.
Together with Achim Puchert, CEO of Mercedes-Benz Trucks, Carsten Schneider and Alexander Schweitzer visited the A-series production facility at the site, where the battery-electric Mercedes-Benz eActros 600 for long-distance transport is also manufactured in series. During the tour, the two ministers gained insights into production at close quarters: In addition to an exchange with qualified experts from the e-truck assembly line, Federal Minister Carsten Schneider and Minister-President Alexander Schweitzer were allowed to lend a hand with the installation of the battery in the eActros 600, thus taking on one of the last tasks in the vehicle’s production. A test drive with the eActros 600 finally led to the development and testing center at the Wörth site, where the first public liquid hydrogen filling station for fuel cell trucks is located.
Achim Puchert, CEO of Mercedes-Benz Trucks: “The visit by Federal Environment Minister Carsten Schneider and Minister-President Alexander Schweitzer to the Wörth plant underscores the importance of the transformation of the commercial vehicle industry. Our Mercedes-Benz plant in Wörth shows how this transformation can succeed in Germany: With our flexible production strategy, we have positioned ourselves optimally for the challenges of change in our industry and can adapt our production to customer demand at any time. On one assembly line, we flexibly manufacture different drive types in parallel – both battery-electric vehicles such as our eActros 600 and combustion engine trucks. In addition to innovative production processes and vehicles, the success of electric mobility also requires clear political support – for example, in the expansion of the charging infrastructure and targeted incentives for our customers.”
During his visit, Federal Environment Minister Carsten Schneider said: “Just a few years ago, hardly anyone would have thought it possible that large trucks could travel such long distances on electric power. Today, we can see that it works and is also suitable for everyday use, with charging times and break times for drivers fitting in well. Now it’s up to the political framework to ensure that the investment also pays off for freight forwarders. In many cases, this is already the case, especially when the batteries can be charged in the depot with solar power from the roof. Or when the trucks drive long distances that the climate discounts on tolls offset the additional costs of purchase.”
Minister-President Alexander Schweitzer emphasized the importance of Daimler Truck as the second-largest employer in Rhineland-Palatinate: “With its plant in Wörth, Daimler Truck is not only a significant economic factor, but also a key player in the industrial transformation of mobility. Especially in times of change, it is a central concern of the state government to be able to offer the best conditions for a strong industrial and economic location in Rhineland-Palatinate through targeted promotion and support.”
SOURCE: Daimler Truck
