The eCitaro shows its readiness for series production with every detail – tests inside the Arctic Circle and in Spain's summer heat have clearly proven this. From drive system to battery technology, to safety-relevant details - the eCitaro from Mercedes-Benz is convincing all along the line and is therefore ideally suited as a fleet vehicle for daily use by public transport operators.

Assistance systems such as Sideguard Assist, which provides support when cornering, or Preventive Brake Assist, the first active brake assistant for regular service city buses, are also available for the eCitaro.

Unlike an internal-combustion engine, an electric motor can be located almost anywhere in the vehicle. Mercedes-Benz opted for a compact design - the tried-and-tested ZF AxTrax AVE drive axle with motors placed close to the wheel hubs, a design that has already been applied in other Citaro variants. In this electro-portal axle design, a water-cooled asynchronous motor is situated close to each wheel. The axle has an output of 125 kW. Torque from a standing start is thus 2 x 485 Nm, and thanks to the reduction ratio, at the wheels themselves a torque of around 2 x 11.000 Nm is applied. The installation space that has become free due to the absence of internal-combustion engine and transmission is used to accommodate the battery modules.

In order to save energy, the eCitaro features an acceleration control system: both the solo bus and the articulated bus always accelerate under full load with identical dynamics from the bus stop or from traffic lights. It makes no difference if the city bus is empty or full.

The eCitaro is not an off-the-shelf bus. Transport businesses can use it to adapt their deployment, battery and charging strategies precisely to individual requirements. This is made possible by the modular technology of the eCitaro, which is geared towards a high degree of future-proofing.

The current NMC batteries will soon be followed by the next NMC generation with an even higher capacity and thus even greater range. This also allows an optional battery update of your eCitaro. In future, three charging technologies will be available: depot charging, high-performance charging via pantograph and charging via charging rails.

All-electric city buses are heavier due to the batteries. Mercedes-Benz counteracts this with a well-thought-out weight distribution of the eCitaro’s components. For example, this applies to the variable position of the battery modules on the roof and the accommodation of the other battery modules in the rear.

This is supplemented by the use of a front axle with with a permissible axle load of eight tonnes. The result is an efficient capacity of at least 88 passenger seats in the solo bus even with extensive equipment. The calculation is based on a curb weight of 13.5 tonnes and an approval with the now permissible total weight of 19.5 tonnes in the EU.