Mercedes-Benz eActros on track for production

Mercedes-Benz is testing the battery electric eActros at logistics company Logistik Schmitt near Rastatt in southern Germany.

Practical testing of the all-electric heavy-duty truck has been carried out in the region over the course of several years now.

The official handover of the eActros to Logistik Schmitt took place at the beginning of the year as part of the Daimler Trucks annual press conference in Gaggenau.

The 25-tonne vehicle commutes around seven kilometres between the Logistik Schmitt warehouse facility and the Mercedes-Benz Gaggenau plant.

Logistik Schmitt uses the eActros instead of a conventional diesel truck for the transportation of transmission housings.

The eActros with its range of up to 200 kilometres, covers a daily distance of around 168 kilometres.

Mercedes-Benz Trucks head Stefan Buchner says the eActros is on track for general production from 2021.

“The Mercedes-Benz eActros is now integrated into daily operations by our test customers in Germany and Switzerland.

“Here, the eActros has already covered tens of thousands of kilometres. Even fully-loaded and regardless of hot or cold temperatures, it successfully completes its daily duties.

“We are pleased that, together with Logistik Schmitt, we are able to further expand the testing of the eActros,” Buchner says.

Logistik Schmitt executive partner Rainer Schmitt says the eActros is helping the company “operate in an environmentally friendly way”.

“With the Mercedes-Benz eActros, we can already drive both quietly and locally emission-free while remaining completely mobile. Practical testing has shown that the eActros is well suited for use in distribution operations like our own. It is reliable, always ready for duty and its range easily covers our required daily distances.

“In close collaboration with the experts at Mercedes-Benz Trucks, we clarified key questions concerning the scope of our operations and the required charging infrastructure.

“When we started using the eActros, our drivers also received a comprehensive training course and instructions as to how to operate the electric truck. The eActros now transports as much as twelve tonnes of freight and drives twelve tours on a daily basis, thereby covering a total of 168 kilometres. It is charged using a mobile charging station at our own premises in between the individual tours whilst unloading and loading takes place,” Schmitt says.