
Mercedes-Benz Trucks has launched its long-awaited and highly anticipated eActros 600 long-haul battery electric truck, with a claimed range of 500km.
At the heart of the truck is a new 800V electric axle with twin electric motors and a 4-speed transmission, which was developed in-house specifically for this vehicle. The motors generate a continuous output of 400kW and a peak output of 600kW.
It equipped with three lithium iron phosphate cell technology (LFP) batteries, each with a capacity of 207kWh. It’s their combined 621kWh capacity that gives the truck its ‘600’ designation. LFP batteries are known for their long service life, and Mercedes claims they will still have 80% health after 1.2 million km and 10 years of operation.
In addition to CCS charging with up to 400kW, the truck can be future-proofed with the pre-installation of megawatt charging (MCS). When this technology becomes widely available the batteries can be charged from 20% to 80% in just 30 minutes, whereas it currently tales less than an hour.
Helping to give it a 500km range is the new slippery ‘ProCabin’ cab, which features an 80mm protrusion at the front, allowing for better streamlining. Obvious styling features include a completely closed and rounded-off front bonnet, a redesigned bumper with underbody panelling, revised access steps and doors, air deflectors on the A-pillars and new LED headlamps. All these changes mean ProCabin has a 9% drag coefficient improvement over the current diesel-powered Actros.
Despite costing roughly two-and-a-half times the price of an equivalent diesel-powered Actros, Mercedes estimates that operators could see a cost parity with diesel in around five years/600,000km. It is basing this calculation on countries like France and Germany, which have comparatively low electricity costs and proposed CO2-based truck tolls.
Sales of both eActros 600 4x2 tractors and multi-axle rigids start this year, with series production planned for the end of 2024. In the meantime, the first 50 prototype trucks are about to commence customer trials.
You can expect the cab modifications to make their way onto the diesel-powered Actros L early next year.
You can read the full story in this week’s Commercial Motor – on sale on Thursday 12 October.
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