MERCEDES-BENZ: FIRST PROTOTYPES OF THE EACTROS LONGHAUL WILL BE TESTED ON PUBLIC ROADS THIS YEAR
The Mercedes-benz eactros Longhaul truck has a range of around 500 km on a single battery charge and is capable of megawatt charging. The truck comprises three battery packs providing an installed total capacity of over 600 kwh. Two electric motors, as part of a new e-axle, generate a continuous output of 400 kw and a peak output of over 600 kw.
“About 60% of long-haul trips in Europe are shorter than 500 km; so, many customers do not need to rely on public charging, they can charge when the truck returns to the depot,” says Karin Rådström, CEO, Mercedes-benz Trucks.
Development engineers at Mercedes-benz Trucks are designing the eactros Longhaul so that the vehicle and its components meet the same durability requirements as a comparable conventional heavy long-distance Actros, equivalent to 1.2 million kilometres on the road over a period of ten years.
“We know we’re not on eye level with a diesel truck yet with regard to costs. But there are things working in favour for a battery electric truck. The eactros Longhaul will have a much lower energy consumption per km – less than half – compared to a diesel truck. This means we expect to have lower running costs, and over the course of a common operating period of, say 5 years and 120,000 km a year, this truck can amortize as well as a diesel truck,” says Karin.
The eactros Longhaul will be the first all-electric series-production vehicle from Mercedes-benz Trucks to be manufactured from start to finish on the existing assembly line at
the company’s Wörth truck plant; this includes the installation of all electrical components and putting the vehicle into operation at the end of the line as well as the parallel production of both conventional and fully electric trucks on the same line.
The batteries used in the eactros Longhaul employ lithium-iron phosphate cell technology (LFP). These are characterized, above all, by a long service life and more usable energy. The batteries of the production eactros Longhaul can be charged from 20 to 80 percent in under 30 minutes at a charging station with an output of about one megawatt.
First prototypes of the eactros Longhaul will be tested on public roads later this year, and near-production prototypes will go to customers for real-world use testing next year. In addition to the tractor unit, Mercedes-benz Trucks will produce rigid variants of the eactros Longhaul at market launch. At the IAA Transportation 2022 show, logistics company Hegelmann Group, which operates in Europe, and Mercedes-benz Trucks signed a letter of intent for the order of 50 units of the eactros Longhaul. The vehicles are to be delivered to the family-owned company from Bruchsal, Germany with the start of series production in 2024.