Mercedes Benz eO500U chassis: The platform for electrified city buses in South America's megacities and beyond

Overview 21
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31.08.2023
  • Building block for electrical transformation in Latin America
  • Technologically closely related to the eCitaro
  • Thoroughly tested in Brazil and Germany

Developed and manufactured in Brazil, tested in Brazil and Germany, designed for the world: with the fully electric eO500U city bus chassis, Mercedes‑Benz do Brasil is setting new standards not only on the domestic market. The leap to other countries and continents is already on the cards.

Building block for electrical transformation in Latin America

In many parts of the world buses form the backbone of local public transport in cities and metropolises. At the same time, bus operators in many of these regions want customised bus bodies for their fleets. Electric bus chassis for manufacturers of individually tailored city bus bodies are rare. These chassis must also be suitable for being used in the Latin American bus rapid transit systems – in short: BRT – of the continent's megacities.

For this use case, Daimler Buses has developed the fully electric Mercedes‑Benz eO500U bus chassis for solo vehicles. It has been in operation in Brazil since the beginning of 2023. With the eO500U, Mercedes‑Benz is now also entering the era of electromobility for buses in Latin America. The battery-powered city bus stands for environmentally friendly, locally emission-free local public transport. It contributes to a reduction in air pollution and thus to an increase in the quality of life in cities.

The two-axle chassis enables a permissible gross vehicle weight of 21.2 tonnes. Up to five access doors ensure a fast passenger flow. The body is up to 13.2 metres long.

Technologically closely related to the eCitaro

Technologically, the city bus chassis with all-electric drive developed and manufactured in Brazil is closely related to the European Mercedes‑Benz eCitaro – thus turning it into the worldwide seal of approval. Lithium-ion batteries of the latest NMC3 generation (NMC = nickel-manganese-cobalt oxide) are used as storage media. There is a choice of three or six battery packs, which corresponds to a capacity of between 294 and 588 kWh. The drive axles with wheel hub-mounted electric motors and the independent front suspension are also identical.

Thoroughly tested in Brazil and Germany

The Mercedes‑Benz eO500U city bus chassis is the first fully electric model from the O 500 series. It also serves as the basis for the Brazilian city bus with diesel engine made by Mercedes‑Benz.

The engineers at Daimler Buses put the chassis through its paces in intensive test runs and road tests in both Brazil and Germany to ensure the highest level of quality, reliability and safety.