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| The eActros. |
Mercedes-Benz has launched its first series-produced electric truck, an Actros engineered to deliver heavy loads in city traffic.
Since the concept truck’s introduction at the IAA 2016 for Commercial Vehicles in Hanover, practical testing of in co-operation, 10 eActros prototypes have undergone extensively tests with customers in Germany and other European countries.
Head of Marketing, Sales and Services at Mercedes-Benz Trucks Andreas von Wallfeld, said client feedback on the prototype testing have led to several improvements in in the series-production model, including range, drive power and safety. “The eActros is perfectly equipped for its daily operations in distribution transport with regard to availability and performance,” von Wallfeld said.
Depending on the version, the eActros draws its power from three or four battery packs — each with a capacity of around 105 kWh. The eActros can carry 11,5 tons per axle for a payload of 23 tonnes and, depending on temperature and topogrphy, can cover between 200 and 400 kilometres.
The load is driven by two electric motors close to the rear-axle wheel hubs, each generating 125 kW (170 hp) and 485 Nm. Special gearing ratios allows the torque output to reach up to 11 000 Nm from each motor, which means the eActros will barely notice steep slopes — apart from the faster drain on the batteries.
Merc said the three battery packs need a little longer than an hour to charge from 20% to 80% when connected to a regular 400A DC charging station.
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| The Volta Zero. |
The competitors
The standard model of the eActros is planned to roll off a a new assembly line at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Wörth am Rhein in Germany in September, to be initially sold in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Great Britain, Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Further markets will follow.
Several manufacturers are making all-electric trucks to compete with the eActros. This includes Hino in Japan, MAN in Germany, DAF in the Netherlands, Volvo and autonomous truck builder Einride in Sweden and Volta in the UK. American startups like Nicola, Rivian, Tesla, Workhorse are also poised to bring all-electric or hydrogen-fueld trucks to the markets in the near future.
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| A few of BYD’s all-electrical trucks. |
BYD the one to beat
They are all up against China’s BYD, currently the world’s largest seller of proven electric commercial vehicles, including buses, forklifts, cars and rail systems, as well as a 200-km range inner city delivery trucks.
With many European cities having banned or planning to ban all diesel emmissions, the race is on to meet demand.
Not to be outdone by Mercedes-Benz’s eActross, Volta Trucks last week revealed the a prototype chassis of the Volta Zero, designed to deliver 16-tons on inner city routes. The Volta Zero will next be tested by key customers “to develop their understanding of how the Volta Zero will integrate into their operations”. Full-scale production of customer-specification vehicles will then follow at the end of 2022.
Volta Trucks CEO, Essa Al-Saleh, said Volta’s engineers are working at speed to develop electric trucks “because we know that the world’s climate emergency cannot wait, and our customers need vehicles now”.
