Mercedes-Benz has announced it will launch its most powerful and longest range electric prime mover so far, when it presents the series version of the previous eActros LongHaul on 10 October 2023, with a new design and a new name.
The long-haul Mercedes-Benz truck be called the eActros 600, which is derived from the battery capacity in kilowatt hours – and is mirrored with the eActros 300/400 for distribution haulage.
Mercedes says the high battery capacity and a new efficient electric drive axle developed in-house has enabled a range of around 500 kilometres without intermediate charging.
The company said that thanks to its low energy consumption, the new eActros 600 is intended to be the most economical long-haul Mercedes-Benz truck for customers, compared to the conventional diesel Actros. The manufacturer says it expects that the e-truck will significantly accelerate the far-reaching transformation of road freight transport towards CO2-neutral drives.
Further test vehicles have been built at the Mercedes-Benz plant at Wörth in Germany, since it debuted as a “concept prototype” at the IAA Transportation in Hannover last year.
The company explained that prototypes were put through their paces during winter testing in Finland at the beginning of this year.
“We’re thrilled to see the amazing eActros 600 prime mover will soon hit the road in Europe. We will certainly be testing eActros prime movers locally in the near future and will be able to provide more details about them closer to their introduction,” Mercedes-Benz Trucks Australia Pacific vice president, Andrew Assimo said
A fleet of around fifty prototype trucks is currently being built, which it also plans to go into practical testing with the first customers as the next step. At the same time intensive preparations for series production of the eActros 600 and its important components are currently underway, with series production planned for 2024.
Mercedes-Benz Trucks CEO, Karin Rådström said the eActros 600, produced in Wörth, is able to replace the majority of diesel trucks in the important long-haul segment, as it sets new standards in terms of cost-effectiveness for our customers.
“It also offers huge potential for reducing CO2 emissions. I am convinced that this truck will define the new benchmark in road freight transport,” said Rådström.
Daimler Truck’s head of global powersystems operation Yaris Pürsün said that with the eActros 600, the focus of production at the Mercedes-Benz Powersystems plants in Mannheim, Kassel and Gaggenau is shifting more and more to e-mobility.
“We started to make preparations at an early stage by setting up a production and technology network of competence centres for electric drive components and we are already in the midst of preparing for series production of the new generation of our power units,” said Pürsün.
The company says that the eActros 600 will be produced on the existing assembly line at its Wörth production plant, parallel to and alongside diesel trucks.
Benz says that the electric drive components will also be installed at that site with the e-axle, high-voltage batteries and the front box, a complex technology module, mounted in several production steps.
Mercedes said that once all high-voltage components have been installed, the entire system is put into operation and the truck is ready to go.
Externally the eActros 600 breaks with the familiar look of the current with what Mercedes describes as a new design language for the driver’s cab with design elements from the concept prototype and a more aerodynamic design while the interior has also being upgraded.
The eActros 600 has three battery packs provide with an installed total capacity of more than 600 kWh with two electric motors as part of its new e-axle. The e-axles generate a continuous output of 400 kW and a peak output of over 600 kW.
In addition to a prime mover, Mercedes-Benz will also produce rigid variants from market launch.
Mercedes-Benz development engineers say they have designed the eActros 600 with durability comparable to conventional heavy long-distance diesel Actros with the expectation of a 1.2 million kilometre ten years life on the road.
The eActros 600 uses lithium-iron phosphate cell technology (LFP) which it says deliver a long service life and more usable energy, with the aim for the production eActros 600 to be capable of being charged from 20 to 80 per cent in well under 30 minutes at a charging station with an output of about one megawatt.
Mercedes-Benz says the core of the concept for battery-electric long-distance transport is to ‘offer customers a holistic solution consisting of vehicle technology, consulting, charging infrastructure and services’.
