Wagner — a truck driver and content creator known online as “Elektrotrucker” — is planning the expedition together with Mercedes-Benz Trucks. The idea is a full circumnavigation in a battery-electric long-haul truck.
Tobias Wagner, known as “Elektrotrucker”, is preparing what could be the first around-the-world trip in a battery-electric Mercedes-Benz eActros 600. (Source: Daimler Truck AG)
Mercedes-Benz Trucks says the route will span roughly 45,000 kilometers and cross more than 35 countries. Based on what’s known so far, it would be the first global journey completed in a fully electric long-haul truck. The start is planned for fall 2026, and the expedition is expected to take about a year.
A world tour as a real-world stress test
This project isn’t primarily about chasing a record. The goal is to see what battery-electric long-haul trucking looks like in day-to-day reality — and how far today’s charging ecosystem can support it.
That’s why the route intentionally includes areas with limited charging options, long stretches between towns, and a wide range of climate conditions.
“Battery-electric long-haul transport is already a lived reality in many parts of Europe,” Christian Wilz said in a company statement.
At the same time, the trip is meant to highlight that “in many places, the necessary conditions still need to be put in place.”
A production truck, adapted for expedition duty
The vehicle for the tour will be a series-produced eActros 600, built in mid-April at the Wörth plant.
For the journey, the truck will be modified with features including additional lights, a mobile charging solution, single tires, and a living module.
The electric truck will be specially converted for the around-the-world expedition. (Source: Daimler Truck AG)
According to the manufacturer, the eActros 600 has more than 600 kilowatt-hours of battery capacity and, in standard long-haul operations at 40 tonnes gross combination weight, can cover around 500 kilometers without intermediate charging.
Because the expedition configuration will run lighter than a typical long-haul setup, real-world range could be higher.
A driver with hands-on electric long-haul experience
Wagner has been driving battery-electric trucks in long-haul work for several years and is employed by the Lower Saxony-based Nanno Janssen Spedition.
Mercedes-Benz Trucks says he has already logged around 200,000 kilometers on electric power in domestic and international long-haul operations, including trips through 22 European countries.
“After countless tours through 22 countries, I know one thing: electric trucks in long-haul work run smoothly,” Wagner said in the statement.
For the sector, the planned trip will be closely watched because it should show — under real operating conditions — where battery-electric long-haul transport already works today, and where depots still set clear limits.
Tobias Wagner is a truck driver, content creator and advocate for battery-electric logistics. The 32-year-old startup founder from Mühldorf am Inn previously worked on building passenger-car charging infrastructure and has focused fully on electric logistics since 2024. With the first electric truck circumnavigation, he wants to show the commercial vehicle industry that the true limits of the technology — if they exist at all — may lie far beyond Europe. (Source: Daimler Truck AG)
Mercedes-Benz Trucks’ global eActros trip will also be read as a signal about how quickly the wider industry can finance and build the systems electric long-haul needs — from vehicles to charging.
- green funding
– shows how major truck groups are raising capital specifically for battery-electric trucks and charging infrastructure, complementing the tour’s focus on real-world readiness.
