Photo: Daimler
After completing extensive tests, Mercedes Benz’s battery-powered truck is ready to officially show off its capabilities on the road. On June 30, the company will be presenting the first series-production model of the eActros, in a digital world premiere.
The eActros will be remembered as a pioneering electric truck, in an era where things are moving fast toward electrifying all automotive sectors, including freight transportation. Its story began in 2016, when Mercedes-Benz first introduced the concept of a heavy-duty electric truck. In just a couple of years, the prototype was ready to be tested by major customers, as the brand was determined to integrate customer feedback into the truck’s development.
Since then, 10 eActros prototypes, forming an Innovation Fleet, faced the difficult task of showing what they’re made of and how much they can they handle. Some of the things they had to do were to deliver chilled goods, in an electrically-powered refrigerated box body, to supermarkets, supply components for factory production, replace waste containers, and carry fly ash for concrete production.
They also had to operate in extreme weather conditions, to demonstrate that the electrically-powered cooling system for the cargo and the air conditioning can operate properly even in extreme temperatures. Overall, the prototype trucks have accumulated more than 300,000 miles (500,000 km) on the road.
What did the drivers have to say? It looks like they enjoyed the smooth driving, the reduced noise and the fact that even at varying speeds, torque was still available. And, as the tests clearly proved, the battery-powered truck turned out to be just as reliable and effective as conventional diesel trucks, on any kind of route. And that’s great news, because the actual series-production eActros will even surpass the prototype in terms of power, range and safety. So, if it did well on the tests, it will excel in real-world operations.
After the world premiere, the eActros electric truck will enter the series production phase in the second half of this year. Daimler Truck aims high and sees this as the first step toward the goal of offering only zero-emission vehicles in Europe, Japan and the U.S., by 2039.
Since then, 10 eActros prototypes, forming an Innovation Fleet, faced the difficult task of showing what they’re made of and how much they can they handle. Some of the things they had to do were to deliver chilled goods, in an electrically-powered refrigerated box body, to supermarkets, supply components for factory production, replace waste containers, and carry fly ash for concrete production.
They also had to operate in extreme weather conditions, to demonstrate that the electrically-powered cooling system for the cargo and the air conditioning can operate properly even in extreme temperatures. Overall, the prototype trucks have accumulated more than 300,000 miles (500,000 km) on the road.
What did the drivers have to say? It looks like they enjoyed the smooth driving, the reduced noise and the fact that even at varying speeds, torque was still available. And, as the tests clearly proved, the battery-powered truck turned out to be just as reliable and effective as conventional diesel trucks, on any kind of route. And that’s great news, because the actual series-production eActros will even surpass the prototype in terms of power, range and safety. So, if it did well on the tests, it will excel in real-world operations.
After the world premiere, the eActros electric truck will enter the series production phase in the second half of this year. Daimler Truck aims high and sees this as the first step toward the goal of offering only zero-emission vehicles in Europe, Japan and the U.S., by 2039.
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