The Future Truck 2025 builds on Daimler’s technological experience, with its Mercedes-Benz operation having already installed driver assistance in its trucks abroad, along with proximity cruise control, automatic braking, stability control and lane-keeping assistance systems. Future Truck includes Predictive Powertrain Control, which uses information about road topography and route characteristics to adjust the operation of the drivetrain in order to maximize fuel economy, according to Daimler.

Daimler said current figures carry a clear message of the need for the Highway Pilot system. It pointed to a study showing a clear majority of road goods traffic as a proportion of total goods traffic in the six most populated European Union member nations. Truck transport volume in Europe is expected to grow dramatically over the next more than dozen years, and separate studies have shown much the same in the U.S. The EU study also found that, as in the U.S., investment in transportation infrastructure is regressive, with the transport business suffering from cost pressures and a shortage of drivers.

Daimler expects additional and improved assistance systems in the coming years, which will communicate with one another and enable vehicles to operate without any driver involvement on highways and major roadways. However, they said, a driver would always be present in the truck, including driving it to and from major roadways manually.