Mercedes-Benz eActros hits the road

Mercedes-Benz has announced that it will be putting its electric truck, the eActros, out on the road with operators, after becoming the first manufacturer to produce a heavy-duty electric truck in 2016.

Ten vehicles in two variants, with gross weights of 18 or 25 tonnes, will be handed over in the next few weeks to customers, who will be testing their everyday feasibility and economic efficiency under real-life conditions.

Using expertise from across the Daimler Group, an interdisciplinary team from Daimler Trucks has designed a vehicle capable of coping with everyday distribution operations. A number of technical and, above all, business-related issues remain outstanding, key among them the range and cost of the batteries, but also the infrastructure required for their use as part of customers’ commercial fleets.

‘Daimler Trucks is synonymous with innovation leadership, allied to a realistic and pragmatic attitude,’ explained Martin Daum, the Daimler AG board member responsible for Daimler Trucks and Buses. ‘This is particularly true when it comes to electric mobility. We now want to work together with our customers to move swiftly forward with the development of our Mercedes-Benz eActros to the point where it becomes a viable proposition in tough everyday operations – both technically and commercially.

‘We are beginning this process by creating an innovation fleet and will be supporting its testing in the day-to day logistics environment of our customers. This will enable us to establish just what remains to be done, in terms of technical matters, infrastructure and service, to make our Mercedes-Benz eActros competitive.’

Stefan Buchner, head of Mercedes-Benz Trucks added, ‘We are now passing both two- and three-axle variants of our heavy-duty electric truck, the Mercedes-Benz eActros, into the hands of customers. Initially the focus will be on inner-city goods transport and delivery services – the ranges required here are well within the scope of our Mercedes-Benz eActros.’