Commercial Vehicle Center for Mercedes-Benz and FUSO in Stuttgart

Just one and a half years after the groundbreaking ceremony, Daimler Truck officially opened the Mercedes-Benz Commercial Vehicle Center Stuttgart last Friday in the presence of the Mayor of the state capital Stuttgart, Frank Nopper. The site has been designed from the outset for commercial vehicles powered by battery and fuel cell technology.

(Stuttgart-Feuerbach) On an area of around 22,000 square meters, sales and service for trucks of the Mercedes-Benz and FUSO brands, as well as service for buses of the Mercedes-Benz and Setra brands, will now be offered in Stuttgart-Feuerbach. The location on Wernerstraße will also serve as a rental hub for CharterWay vehicles.

Stina Fagerman, Head of Marketing, Sales and Services at Mercedes-Benz Trucks: “Consistent customer orientation is crucial for the success of Mercedes-Benz Trucks. Our own sales network plays a key role in this. Accordingly, the further development of the company-owned sales network, now also with its own location in Stuttgart, is an important building block of our strategy. In the past twelve months, we have opened four more company-owned commercial vehicle centers: in Haan near Wuppertal, Piacenza and Brescia in Italy, and Velký Týnec in the Czech Republic. The construction or expansion of additional locations is planned. Specifically, we aim to open three new locations this year in Paris, Ruda Śląska near Katowice in Poland, and Bratislava in Slovakia. A good relationship with the local dealer is one of the most important purchasing criteria for our customers.”

Major Step Towards Future Mobility

Mirko Sgodda, Head of Marketing, Sales and Customer Services Daimler Buses: “The new Mercedes-Benz Commercial Vehicle Center Stuttgart not only marks a significant milestone for Daimler Truck but also for Daimler Buses. We are particularly pleased about the integration of bus services at the Stuttgart location. This strengthens our Europe-wide service network, which is the largest bus-specific service network in Europe, and sets new standards for the maintenance and repair of vehicles with battery and fuel cell technology. Our goal at Daimler Buses is to support our customers as best as possible in the transition to electromobility. We achieve this through the close integration of a comprehensive service network, the highest competence in future technologies, and holistic concepts for the mobility of tomorrow, which we implement with Daimler Buses Solutions GmbH.”

Frank Nopper, Mayor of the state capital Stuttgart: “With its new commercial vehicle center, Daimler Truck is taking a big step towards the mobility of the future. Stuttgart-Feuerbach will become the central location for the operation and service of fully electrified commercial vehicles of all kinds – trucks, garbage trucks, and buses. This means a tremendous quality improvement for climate-friendly commercial vehicles from Daimler Truck with new and modern workplaces at its headquarters in Stuttgart.”

New Building Ready for Battery and Fuel Cell Vehicles

The new building has been excellently prepared for the future of transportation from the outset: For example, high-voltage workplaces have been established to service battery-electric models such as the Mercedes-Benz trucks eActros and eEconic, the FUSO eCanter, and the city bus Mercedes-Benz eCitaro. Additionally, a highly modern, variably adaptable workplace has been created to work on the roofs of vehicles – on the truck cab or bus roof. This so-called roof workplace is particularly relevant for the electric city bus Mercedes-Benz eCitaro, as it carries its batteries on the roof.

At the location in Feuerbach, maintenance and repair of vehicles with hydrogen-based drive technologies have also been taken into account from the beginning: The workshop features a fully equipped gas workplace with gas sensors and a specific exhaust system that already meets the requirements for hydrogen. The prerequisites for discharging hydrogen at a so-called evaluation area in front of the workshop and the necessary basic refueling after a workshop stay will be installed by mid-2025. This makes the Stuttgart Commercial Vehicle Center one of the first Mercedes-Benz commercial vehicle operations in Germany to meet all the requirements for the repair and maintenance of hydrogen-powered vehicles.

Charging Infrastructure for Customers and Employees

Of course, sufficient electric charging spaces have also been planned at the location: for employee and customer cars, a total of six charging stations with twelve charging points, and for trucks and buses, initially two charging stations with four charging points for charging capacities of up to 300 kilowatts, where customer vehicles can be recharged after leaving the service as well as CharterWay rental vehicles. A dynamic load management distribution allows for demand-oriented control of the charging current between the charging points.

Designed According to the Latest Standards

The new commercial vehicle center has been designed according to the latest standards. It offers waiting areas for customers, and the paths for the approximately 60 employees are designed to be as short as possible. Where possible, workflows have been digitized.

The workshop is equipped with two roller brake testers for brake tests, a tachograph testing station, a department for bodywork, and four overhead cranes, for example, for lifting engines and transmissions. Thanks to a so-called Truck Lift system, a complete truck-trailer combination can be lifted to perform ergonomically optimal work on wheels and brakes. With two workshop vehicles, the location in Feuerbach participates in the mobile breakdown service in and around Stuttgart.

For the energy supply of the site with one- to two-story buildings and a gross floor area of approximately 4,600 square meters, a photovoltaic system has been installed that can take over a large part of the energy supply. In combination with heating the buildings via heat pumps, the construction project has thus achieved the BEG-40 standard for efficient buildings. It therefore requires a maximum of 40 percent of the maximum energy demand specified by the Building Energy Act.

Location in Stuttgart-Feuerbach Ideal

The property in the north of Stuttgart is excellently suited for the new location. There is good access to both the A81, junction Zuffenhausen, and the B10 tangent between Neckartal and the motorway. The same applies to the distribution traffic towards the city center. The proximity to the city center also brings short distances for city bus customers and saves time for transfers to and from the service.

Photo: © Daimler Truck / Image caption (l. to r.): Volker Hüntrup, Head of Own Retail Mercedes-Benz Trucks Europe, Frank Nopper, Mayor of the state capital Stuttgart, Stina Fagerman, Head of Marketing, Sales and Services Mercedes-Benz Trucks, and Mark Pleß, Center & Sales Manager Mercedes-Benz Trucks Stuttgart & Reutlingen, at the opening of the new location for sales and service of trucks and buses in Stuttgart