Ten Mercedes-Benz eActros Trucks Will Be Test in Day-to-Day Operations for Two Years

The Mercedes eActros is an all-electric version of the Actros model. Ten Mercedes eActros trucks will be test in day-to-day operation for two years. The trucks will be delivered to 20 customers in different sectors who will integrate the electric truck into their fleets. Each customer will use near-series 18 or 25-tonner in their normal operation for a year. They will test the Mercedes eActros for day-to-day suitability.

The Mercedes eActros is an all-electric version of the Actros model.

The first company which will test the Mercedes-Benz eActros is Hermes. In this case the 25-tonner version eActros will be used mainly on a 50 km long route between Bad Hersfeld and the Hermes Logistics Center in Friedewald, northen Hessia. The route is covered six to eight times each day. The Mercedes eActros has a range up to 200 km. So, during its daily operation at Hermes it will need at least one charge between tours.

Stefan Buchner, Head of Mercedes-Benz Trucks said:

"The practical trials with the eActros are an important milestone on the way to series production. We want to use the comprehensive findings to realise electric trucks that are economically comparable to diesel trucks for inner-city distribution from 2021. Our focus is on the operating range and cost of the batteries, and also on the infrastructure necessary for operations in our customers' commercial fleets.“

At the handover of the first eActros of the innovation fleet to Hermes (from left): Mathias Heinze, Key Account Manager at Mercedes-Benz Trucks, Sven Klimpel, General Area Manager Kassel, Hermes Germany GmbH, Dennis Caldwell, Head of Fleet Management/Disposition in the Kassel Area, Hermes Germany GmbH, as well as Thomas Schmitt and Michael Albrecht, both also Key Account Managers at Mercedes-Benz Trucks.

Oliver Lanka, Head of Central Procurement at Hermes Germany:

"Electromobility is an essential component of our sustainability strategy. We have set ourselves the ambitious goal of making our deliveries in all urban centres in Germany emission-free by 2025. Alongside the use of battery-electric vans over the last mile, the gradual electrification of heavy-duty distribution and feeder transport is an important topic for us. We are working together closely with Mercedes-Benz Trucks in this area. Both the technological concept of the eActros and the end-to-end service approach plus the level of advice have impressed us."

Mercedes-Benz eActros will have different missions because all test customers work in different sectors and categories. But all of the test customers transport goods in city traffic. The Mercedes eActros will be in the test customers depending on requirements. There are eActros with two-axle, 18-tonner or eActros with three-axle, 25-tonner. The Mercedes eActros body variants are from refrigerated and box bodies to bulk goods and tarpaulin bodies. The maximum permissible axle load is 11.5 tones.

The Mercedes eActros can be fully charged with two to eleven hours. 

The Mercedes-Benz eActros uses the basis of the standard Actros model. The eActros architecture has been configured specifically for an electric drive system. The drive axle is based on the ZF AVE 130 that has already proved its worth in Mercedes-Benz hybrid and fuel-cell buses. The Mercedes eActros has two electric motors located close to the rear-axle wheel hubs with an output of 126 kW each, and also each deliver 485 Nm of torque. The gear ratios turn the total torque into 11 000 Nm each. This makes the Mercedes eActros comparable with a diesel truck. The eActros has lithium-ion batteries with 240kWh which have already proved their worth in service with EvoBus. The Mercedes eActros can be fully charged with two to eleven hours.