DB Schenker plans to acquire 100 battery-electric Mercedes-Benz eActros LongHaul for its long-haul operations in Europe. The two companies have now signed a letter of intent.
It is unclear from the Daimler Truck announcement when and under what conditions the letter of intent will become a binding order. The manufacturer only reaffirms that the vehicle should be ready for series production in 2024.
The eActros uses LFP cells made by CATL and will have a range of “around 500 kilometres,” according to Daimler Truck. In the testing phase currently underway, the electric truck has to meet the same requirements for durability as a conventional heavy-duty long-haul Actros. That means 1.2 million kilometres of mileage in ten years of operation.
That applies not only to the e-drive with 400 kW continuous and 600 kW peak power, but also to the 600 kWh battery. While electric trucks used for distribution are generally charged at the depot, vehicles for long-distance traffic must be recharged as much as possible within the legally prescribed driving breaks. The eActros LongHaul is known to support megawatt charging with the new MCS standard, meaning the battery can be charged from 20 to 80 per cent in “well under 30 minutes.” After successful winter tests in Rovaniemi, Finland, at temperatures as low as minus 25 degrees, the next step will now be testing on public roads.
“DB Schenker is an important and long-standing partner for us that is already successfully using our electric trucks for distribution haulage,” says Stina Fagerman, Head of Marketing, Sales and Services at Mercedes-Benz Trucks. “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.”
Cyrille Bonjean, Head of Land Transport at DB Schenker Europe, adds: “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.”
With DB Schenker, the second launch customer of the eActros 300 now also signed a letter of intent for the eActros LongHaul. Dachser already signed such an agreement in December 2022. Amazon, Rhenus, Hegelmann and Tevex Logistics also intend on using the eActros LongHaul in the future.
Keyword: DB Schenker will buy 100 eActros LongHaul