On January, 7th, Rhein-Neckar-Verkehr GmbH (rnv) ceremoniously started operation of three fully-electric Mercedes‑Benz city buses. At the bus depot in Mannheim, Till Oberwörder, Head of Daimler Buses, and Martin in der Beek, Technical Managing Director at rnv, presented the new eCitaro buses in the presence of Dr. Peter Kurz, Mayor of Mannheim, as well as Christian Specht, first Mayor of Mannheim, and then in the presence of Professor Eckart Würzner, Mayor of Heidelberg. The first purely electric eCitaro bus service in Heidelberg goes from the main train station via the Seegarten to the Karlsplatz and then later to the Altstadt commuter rail station. Bus route 20 travels through Heidelberg's city centre every 20 minutes, whereby it is expected that in the future two vehicles will cover the four kilometre long route with 12 stops. One of Mannheim's electric bus routes leaves from Käfertal train station and travels via Wasserwerkstraße to the Franklin district, a new district where members of the US armed forces used to live. The other route begins at the Platz der Freundschaft and ends at the new Taylor industrial estate, which also once belonged to the US armed forces. One eCitaro will be in operation on each route.

In Heidelberg, the vehicles will be on the road between 9.00 a.m. and 10.00 p.m. and in Mannheim between 6.00 a.m. and midnight. This corresponds to a daily mileage of about 200 kilometres or more per vehicle. Accordingly lithium-ion batteries with a total capacity of 243 kWh will provide the electric power. The battery design is modular, comprising 10 modules each with an output of 25 kWh. In addition to the six battery modules on the vehicle's roof, four battery modules in the rear take the position of today’s drive system combination of combustion engine and transmission.