The battery-electric Mercedes-Benz truck for long-distance haulage is on its way. Mercedes-Benz Trucks will be presenting the series version of the previous eActros LongHaul on October 10, 2023, with a new design and the new name of eActros 600 as a world premiere. The designation 600 is derived from the battery capacity in kilowatt hours – as in the eActros 300/400 for distribution haulage. The high battery capacity and a new, particularly efficient electric drive axle developed in-house enable a range of around 500 Km without intermediate charging. Thanks to its low energy consumption, the e-truck, marketed as the “New eActros 600”, is intended to be the most economical long-haul truck from Mercedes-Benz Trucks for customers compared to the conventional diesel Actros. The manufacturer expects that the e-truck will significantly accelerate the far-reaching transformation of road freight transport towards CO2-neutral drives.
Since the first appearance of the electric truck as a “concept prototype” at the IAA Transportation 2022, further test vehicles have been built at the Mercedes-Benz plant Wörth – with central components coming from the Mercedes-Benz plants Mannheim, Kassel and Gaggenau. Prototypes of the vehicle were put through their paces during winter testing in Finland at the beginning of the year. A fleet of around fifty prototype vehicles is currently being built, which is also planned to go into practical testing with the first customers in the next step. At the same time, the four plants are intensively preparing for series production of the eActros 600 or important components. Series production of the e-truck is planned for 2024.
Karin Rådström, CEO Mercedes-Benz Trucks: “The eActros 600, produced in Wörth, is able to replace the majority of diesel trucks in the important long-haul segment, as it sets new standards in terms of cost-effectiveness for our customers. It also offers huge potential for reducing CO2 emissions. I am convinced that this truck will define the new benchmark in road freight transport.”
Yaris Pürsün, Head of Global Power Systems Operation Daimler Truck: “With the eActros 600, the focus of production at our Mercedes-Benz Powersystems plants in Mannheim, Kassel and Gaggenau is shifting more and more to e-mobility. We therefore started to make preparations at an early stage by setting up a production and technology network of competence centres for electric drive components and are already in the midst of preparing for series production of the new generation of our power units.”
