A prototype of the eActros LongHaul, which engineers say has a range of around 500km on a single charge, was revealed at the IAA Transportation trade show in Germany last week.
Mercedes-Benz Trucks says the 40 tonne electric truck will drive with up to 600kWh battery capacity and 600kW peak power from its three battery packs.
The lithium-iron phosphate cell technology (LFP) batteries of the production eActros LongHaul can be 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 Trucks said that the first prototypes are already undergoing intensive testing and the eActros LongHaul will be tested on public roads later this year. In the coming year, near-production prototypes will go to customers for real-world use testing.
Mercedes-Benz Trucks will also produce rigid variants of the eActros LongHaul right at market launch.
Development engineers at Mercedes-Benz Trucks say they 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. That means 1.2 million kilometres on the road over a period of 10 years.
The eActros LongHaul will also 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 Wörth truck plant.
This includes the installation of all electrical components and putting the vehicle into operation at the end of the line. Mercedes-Benz says this enables high-production capacity and the completely parallel production of both conventional and fully electric trucks on the same line.
The eActros LongHaul also won the 2023 Truck Innovation Award from the International Truck of the Year jury, which is made up of 25 commerical vehicle journalists from around the world.