The global commercial vehicle industry stands at a complex crossroads, where engineering, R&D, and infrastructure must evolve rapidly to support zero-emission technologies. While battery-electric vehicles demand advances in energy density and charging infrastructure, hydrogen solutions require a parallel push for fuel distribution and technological readiness. For Daimler Trucks, the path forward lies not in transitional fuels like CNG or hybrids, but in committing to both battery and hydrogen technologies as the dual pillars of a sustainable future.
Speaking to Mobility Outlook, Raghavendra Vaidya, MD and CEO, Daimler Trucks and Innovation Centre India (DTICI), acknowledged the real challenge: not just in developing these solutions, but in aligning them with varying global regulatory frameworks, infrastructure readiness, and customer adoption rates. With regions like Europe only recently recognising hydrogen internal combustion engines (ICE) as near-zero emission and the US still undecided, the fragmented global landscape complicates capital allocation for technologies that demand massive investment.
To manage risk and gain scale, Daimler has partnered with rival Volvo through their cellcentric joint venture, producing a shared fuel cell stack for both companies’ trucks. “When your fiercest competitor uses the same core technology, it’s a bold yet necessary move,” he said. In a world where diesel has made unexpected returns and regulatory directions remain uncertain, collaboration—rather than isolation—is emerging as a key strategy to navigate the costly and unpredictable road to decarbonisation, Vaidya pointed out.
Economics Of Electrification Still A Roadblock
As Daimler and Volvo co-develop a cutting-edge fuel cell stack, a new question emerges: how does each entity differentiate when the heart of the truck is now shared technology? Vaidya said, in the past, proprietary engines defined brand identity—each OEM prided itself on performance, compliance, and engineering excellence. Today, the scale of investment required makes such individualism nearly impossible.
“Infrastructure remains the great unknown. The entire hydrogen ecosystem—from production and storage to distribution—lies largely outside OEM control. Who will produce green hydrogen at scale? How will it be transported across continents? These unanswered questions compound the complexity of delivering zero-emission vehicles in a fractured regulatory landscape,” he mentioned.
Daimler underscores the dilemma: building a battery pack for global use demands harmonised regulations, but diverging regional policies threaten the viability of such investments. Engineering challenges are solvable, business models are evolving, but regulatory fragmentation is a wildcard that no OEM can fully plan for, he said.
Moreover, “cost parity with diesel remains elusive. Battery-electric trucks are still two to two-and-a-half times more expensive, impacting logistics and, eventually, the end consumer. Government subsidies may soften the blow for now, but they are not a permanent solution,” he said. As Daimler sees it, the world must eventually absorb a one-time cost reset in transport economics if it truly seeks deep decarbonisation. These are not challenges for a single company or sector—they are system-wide disruptions demanding cross-industry alignment and courageous capital decisions, he said.
Strategic Alliances Rise As Innovation Cost Soars
While Daimler and Volvo may share a common fuel cell stack, differentiation doesn’t end there. Performance may be similar, but key elements—power electronics, system integration, aerodynamics, and battery configuration—offer significant room for distinction. Crucially, Daimler’s decades-long relationships with fleet customers remain a core differentiator. “When a truck breaks down in the middle of Europe, they call us—and we show up. That trust is irreplaceable,” Vaidya noted.
Daimler is also extending its collaboration with Volvo through a new joint venture to develop a next-generation software-defined vehicle platform, merging “power to drive” with “intelligence to drive.” While such alliances raise questions about brand distinction, the industry’s capital demands make partnership unavoidable. Internally, “Daimler continues to wrestle with how far it can go without blurring its identity—decisions that only time and market feedback will validate,” he noted.
On the question of autonomous driving, Vaidya was candid, stating that “It’s a distant dream. Despite decades of investment and hype, fully self-driving vehicles remain elusive—even in ideal Western conditions.” Daimler’s subsidiary TORC is leading efforts on Level-4 autonomy, focusing on hub-to-hub operations on highways—seen as the most viable route to real-world deployment. Unlike door-to-door autonomous transport, highway driving for commercial vehicles involves fewer variables, making it more conducive to technologies like platooning.
With global driver shortages intensifying, hub-to-hub autonomy could become a tipping point, easing operational pressures. Yet, even here, the path is far from clear. “We have internal timelines,” the executive admitted, “but confidence in meeting them is low. The complexity is staggering. Still, we remain invested—for now.” In this evolving landscape, autonomy is no longer a race—it’s a test of endurance, realism, and strategic resolve, he added.
AI-driven Intelligence
Building autonomous trucks is as much about AI-driven intelligence as it is about engineering endurance. The promise—lower costs, enhanced safety, and uninterrupted productivity—is enormous, but achieving reliability across diverse terrains and conditions remains a steep challenge. Daimler’s approach integrates advanced simulation environments developed at DTICI, where real-world driving data is paired with software models to test system responses. What once required physical video capture across continents is now augmented by synthetic test data generation, accelerating development without sacrificing accuracy.
Still, the art of driving has proven far more complex than anticipated. Progress in AI algorithms is encouraging, but as he stressed, “an algorithm is only as good as its sensor data.” The industry continues to debate the superiority of Lidar, radar, or cameras, but Daimler remains clear-eyed: in adverse weather—fog, rain, snow—cameras often fall short. Fortunately, sensor technology is maturing rapidly, bringing greater precision and resilience to autonomous systems, he noted.
But the technological puzzle is only part of the story. Public scrutiny and regulatory caution loom large. A single high-profile incident, like a robo-taxi crash, can derail years of progress. Society demands perfection from machines, while forgiving countless human errors. “We need to be more accepting,” he suggested, pointing to the disproportionate reactions that can stall innovation.
“For passenger cars, autonomy might be a luxury or a novelty. But for commercial vehicles, it’s a revolution. Autonomous trucks don’t need rest breaks. They don’t suffer fatigue. A self-driving truck that can go coast to coast without stopping would redefine logistics economics. Whoever cracks it first, stands to gain immensely,” he concluded.
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