Mercedes-Benz rolls out all-electric Actros

Mercedes-Benz became the first manufacturer in the world with a heavy-duty electric truck when it revealed its first concept at the IAA Commercial Vehicles show in Hanover in 2016.

And now, just two years later, the big German manufacturer is putting its electric truck, the eActros, out on the road with customers. 

Ten vehicles in two variants, with a gross vehicle weight 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. 

Mercedes-Benz said this week that a number of technical and business-related issues remain outstanding with the roll-out of the electric trucks and key among them is the range, cost of batteries, and 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. 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," explained Martin Daum, the Daimler AG Board Member responsible for Daimler Trucks and Buses.

"We are now passing both two- and three-axle variants of our heavy-duty electric truck, the 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,” added Stefan Buchner, Head of Mercedes-Benz Trucks.

Buchner said that the companies participating in the fleet test are ten customers from a variety of sectors in Germany and Switzerland, and the drivers of the eActros trucks will be trained specifically to work with the vehicle. 

The pilot customers will be testing the vehicles in real-life operations for twelve months, after which the trucks will be going out to a second round of customers for a further twelve months. "This will enable us to satisfy the many requests we have had from customers and to gain even more insight," according to Buchner. "Our aim is to achieve series-production and market maturity for a range of economically competitive electric trucks for use in heavy-duty transport operations with effect from 2021."

The drive system comprises two electric motors located close to the rear-axle wheel hubs. These three-phase asynchronous motors are liquid-cooled and operate with a nominal voltage of 400 volts. They generate an output of 125kW each, with maximum torque of 485Nm each. The gearing ratios convert this into 11,000Nm each, resulting in driving performance on a par with that of a diesel truck.

The maximum permissible axle load stands at the usual 11.5 tonnes. 

The energy for a range of up to 200km is provided by two lithium-ion batteries with an output of 240kWh. These have already proved their worth in service with EvoBus GmbH – so can no longer be considered as prototypes. "Synergies within the Group like these allow us to pool our experiences, shorten development times and, of course, also save costs,” said Buchner.

Daimler is certainly at the forefront of electric commercial vehicles with its all-electric light-duty truck, the eCanter
from the company's Asian brand Fuso, which launched last autumn as the first series-production electric truck. 

The eVito from Mercedes-Benz has also been available to order since November 2017 and will be going out to customers from the second half of this year. Next in line are the all-electric Citaro city bus and the electric eSprinter. 

Just when we’ll get to see this technology in Australia we don’t yet know, but Mercedes-Benz Truck and Bus Australia Director, Michael May said he was excited by the latest advancements: “The eActros is a fantastic development and we are very excited to see it hit the road,” he said.

“At this stage, the program is limited to Europe, but we see great potential for this technology in large Australian cities in the future,” Mr May added.