DB Schenker and Mercedes-Benz Trucks have signed a joint letter of intent about the German logistics giant’s plans to acquire 100 Mercedes-Benz eActros LongHaul for European long-distance haulage operations, the companies have announced.
The use of the battery-electric eActros LongHaul is intended to contribute to achieving CO2 neutrality on DB Schenker’s balance sheet by 2040. The electric truck has a range of around 500 km on a single charge and is expected to reach series maturity in 2024.
“DB Schenker is an important and long-standing partner for us that is already successfully using our electric trucks for distribution haulage. We are therefore all the more pleased that, for long-distance haulage, the company has chosen another vehicle sporting the three-pointed star – the battery-electric eActros LongHaul,” said Stina Fagerman, Head of Marketing, Sales and Services at Mercedes-Benz Trucks.
Cyrille Bonjean, Head of Land Transport at DB Schenker Europe added:
“The successive expansion of our electric fleet will enable us to pursue our objective of becoming the world’s leading provider of green logistics. With the eActros LongHaul, it is now also possible to use battery-electric vehicles on long distances. For us, it is important to take responsibility for the environment and to promote ecological solutions.”
The eActros LongHaul electric lorry is designed to meet the same durability requirements as a comparable conventional heavy long-distance Actros, enabling the vehicle and its components to travel 1.2 million kilometres over ten years, using lithium-iron-phosphate cell technology (LFP) batteries that offer a long service life and more usable energy.
The batteries can be charged from 20 to 80 per cent in less than 30 minutes at a charging station with an output of approximately one megawatt, with three battery packs providing a total capacity of over 600 kWh, and two electric motors generating a continuous output of 400 kW and a peak output of over 600 kW.
Mercedes-Benz Trucks plans to produce rigid variants of the eActros LongHaul alongside the tractor unit, offering customers more possibilities for fully electric transport. After successful winter tests in Rovaniemi, Finland, at temperatures as low as minus 25 degrees, the next step is testing on public roads.