Leinfelden-Echterdingen / North Cape, Norway – The two e-trucks on the “eActros 600 European Testing Tour 2024” by Mercedes-Benz Trucks have traveled 4.436 kilometers exclusively under battery-electric power to reach the northernmost milestone after 12 days: The North Cape in Norway, the northernmost point in Europe accessible by road from the mainland. The two near-series prototypes of the new electric flagship eActros 600 had started out from Frankfurt am Main on June 11 to complete the most extensive test run in the company’s history. The testing tour involves the two e-trucks driving through more than 20 European countries, each vehicle covering more than 13.000 kilometers with 40 tons total towing weight. The other highlights of the trip include the southernmost point in Continental Europe: Tarifa in Spain.
In Norway, the e-trucks completed the longest leg of the tour to date with one battery charge, mainly on rural roads with a challenging topography. This leg involved a distance of 480 kilometers, with the e-trucks still showing a remaining range of 30 kilometers. Even in strong winds and rainy weather the two eActros 600 prototypes always demonstrated their reliability with every kilometer they traveled.
Gaining experience on a wide range of routes with an eye on energy consumption
With the “eActros 600 European Testing Tour 2024”, Mercedes-Benz Trucks intends to gain extensive experience on a wide range of routes in different topographies and climate zones with an eye on energy consumption. The manufacturer intends to then share these findings with interested customers.
The high battery capacity of more than 600 kilowatt hours1 and a new, particularly efficient electric drive axle developed in-house enable the eActros 600 to achieve a range of 500 kilometers2 without intermediate charging. The intention for the tour is to charge the batteries exclusively at public charging stations.
The tour already led through Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. Next up are, among others: Czechia, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia, Italy, Monaco, France, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg.
About the eActros 600
Around 60 percent of long-distance journeys of Mercedes-Benz Trucks customers in Europe are shorter than 500 kilometers, which means charging infrastructure at the depot and at the loading and unloading points is sufficient in such cases. For all other uses, continual expansion of public charging infrastructure is vital in order to make the electric truck viable for long-distance haulage across Europe. In addition to CCS charging with up to 400 kW, the eActros 600 will later also enable megawatt charging (MCS). In April this year, developers from Mercedes-Benz Trucks successfully charged for the first time a prototype of the eActros 600 at a charging station with an output of one megawatt at the in-house development and testing center in Wörth am Rhein. Customers can order a pre-installation for MCS. As soon as MCS technology becomes available and is standardized across manufacturers, it is planned to be retrofittable for these early models of the eActros 600. The batteries can be charged from 20 to 80 percent3 in about 30 minutes at a suitable charging station with an output of around one megawatt.
Visually, the long-haul e-truck is characterized by a fundamentally new, puristic design with clear lines and an aerodynamic shape. When it comes to profitability for fleet operators, the electric truck is intended to set new standards, over the long term replacing the majority of diesel trucks in the important long-haul transport segment. The core of Mercedes-Benz Trucks’ concept for battery-electric long-distance transport is to offer customers a holistic solution consisting of vehicle technology, consulting, charging infrastructure and services.
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