Daimler Trucks announces plans to develop an all-electric garbage truck slated to hit the roads in 2021.

Daimler Trucks & Buses has announced that a new member will soon be joining its vehicle portfolio, the all-electric Mercedes-Benz eEconic.

Daimler Trucks recently announced its development of a fully electric waste-collection truck: the Mercedes-Benz eEconic.

The low-floor eEconic will be based on the all-electric Mercedes-Benz eActros heavy duty truck, a Daimler Trucks unit that started hitting the streets in 2019.

The all-electric @MercedesBenz eEconic is coming soon! Our new #eEconic will represent the next step towards locally emission-free #eMobility. The low-floor #truck is ergonomic, safe & ideally outfitted as a waste-collection vehicle in inner-city traffichttps://t.co/YFxT8Niwy8 pic.twitter.com/3vx8mmyF54 — Daimler Trucks & Buses (@DaimlerTruckBus) January 16, 2020

The stop-and-go nature of waste collection as well as the fact that routes are relatively short and highly predictable makes battery-electric powertrains a practical alternative to combustion engines as "electrical energy can be recovered during braking to charge the battery, which further improves range and efficiency."

While producing no local emissions, the eEconic will also protect surrounding road users with a collection of intelligent driver-safety technologies like Sideguard Assist.

This model aligns with Daimler Trucks' vision to offer all new vehicles with CO2-neutral driving operation by 2039, at least in the brand's main sales regions.

"Practical use" of the eActros will begin next year while series production will begin in 2022.