Daimler Buses will offer one-time over-the-air function activation for the next eCitaro

Daimler Buses showed the first near-production prototype of the next-generation Mercedes-Benz eCitaro on 10 November, and its service brand Omniplus set out the software the electric city bus will carry. According to the company’s long-form release, the world premiere is scheduled for Busworld Europe in Brussels in October 2027 and the market launch is planned from 2028.

The bus will receive over-the-air updates through its standard Bus Data Center communication module, installed without a workshop visit. Omniplus said these are not limited to security updates and can also cover general software updates, changed settings and the activation of optional retrofit functions, with the bus’s new electronic architecture as the prerequisite.

Selected software functions can be activated after delivery without hardware changes. Omniplus said activation is a one-time process valid for the vehicle’s entire lifetime and requires no ongoing subscription, though it does require an Omniplus On digital services contract.

The redesigned driver’s cockpit, Multimedia Cockpit Interactive, is described as conceived for the first time as an expandable software platform that can take new apps, functions and services over the bus’s lifecycle, and is itself updated over the air. It stays connected to the Daimler Buses backend while an Omniplus On contract is active.

For operators with their own workshops, Omniplus On Uptime Pro gives a remote diagnosis with all active and stored fault codes and environmental data, without connecting a diagnostic device to the bus. When set thresholds are crossed, the system generates a fault message and recommends whether the bus can stay in service.

In October the company said its Mercedes-Benz and Setra coaches would take a new electronic architecture with remote updates from 2027.