Leinfelden-Echterdingen / Wörth am Rhein – Mercedes-Benz Trucks successfully took its eActros 600 European Tour across the finishing line. After a 45-day all-electric development trip through a total of 22 countries, the two near-series prototypes of the Mercedes-Benz eActros 600 arrived back in Wörth am Rhein, safe and sound with over 15,000 kilometers more on the clock. The two e-trucks covered exactly 15,269 and 15,939 kilometers respectively during this time and they completed the trip with a 40-ton gross combination mass. Along the entire route, the developers charged the two long-haul trucks exclusively at public charging points.

Christof Weber, Head of Global Testing Mercedes-Benz Trucks: “The two test vehicles mastered the tour with top marks. We can look back on almost seven weeks of exciting experiences and encounters that enabled us to collect many valuable insights. Such a monumental trip requires meticulous preparation and planning, especially with regard to charging at public infrastructure. Even if our experiences with charging stops varied greatly in some cases, it was apparent that battery-electric long-distance haulage is feasible. The eActros 600’s 500 kilometers range without intermediate charging was always a reliable planning factor.”

The tour was accompanied by some 30 journalists from 20 European countries, most of whom took their own turn at the wheel. “I would particularly like to thank the colleagues who organized and provided support for this trip and who brought our trucks back, safe and sound, to Wörth – I include the many media representatives who were a permanent feature of our test team for the entire duration of the tour,” Weber continues.  

The manufacturer will provide information on the specific insights and results from the “Mercedes-Benz eActros 600 European Testing Tour 2024” as part of the IAA Transportation in Hanover in September.

The northernmost and southernmost points in Europe as tour highlights

The tour officially started out from Frankfurt am Main on June 11. After traveling north through Germany, Denmark and Sweden, the two trucks reached the first major stage highlight, right on time for Midsummer: The North Cape in Norway, the most northerly point in Europe that can be reached by road. From the end of June, the convoy’s onward route turned south through Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia, Italy, France and Spain. After a stop in Tarifa, Spain, the southernmost place in Continental Europe, which also marked the next major tour highlight, the trip once again took a northerly direction – back to Germany via Portugal, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.

Gaining experiences on a wide range of routes with an eye on energy consumption

With the “eActros 600 European Testing Tour 2024”, Mercedes-Benz Trucks intended to gain extensive experience on a wide range of routes in different topographies and climate zones with an eye on energy consumption. The manufacturer intends to then share these findings with interested customers.

The high battery capacity of over 600 kilowatt hours[1] and a new, particularly efficient electric drive axle developed in-house enable the eActros 600 to achieve a range of 500 kilometers[2] without intermediate charging.

About the eActros 600

Around 60 percent of long-distance journeys of Mercedes-Benz Trucks customers in Europe are shorter than 500 kilometers, which means charging infrastructure at the depot and at the loading and unloading points is sufficient in such cases. For all other uses, continual expansion of public charging infrastructure is vital in order to make the electric truck viable for long-distance haulage across Europe. In addition to CCS charging with up to 400 kW, the eActros 600 will later also enable megawatt charging (MCS). In April this year, developers from Mercedes-Benz Trucks successfully charged for the first time a prototype of the eActros 600 at a charging station with an output of one megawatt at the in-house development and testing center in Wörth am Rhein. Customers can order a pre-installation for MCS. As soon as MCS technology becomes available and is standardized across manufacturers, it is planned to be retrofittable for these early models of the eActros 600. The batteries can be charged from 20 to 80 percent[3] in about 30 minutes at a suitable charging station with an output of around one megawatt. 

Visually, the long-haul e-truck is characterized by a fundamentally new, puristic design with clear lines and an aerodynamic shape. When it comes to profitability for fleet operators, the electric truck is intended to set new standards, over the long term replacing the majority of diesel trucks in the important long-haul transport segment. The core of Mercedes-Benz Trucks’ concept for battery-electric long-distance transport is to offer customers a holistic solution consisting of vehicle technology, consulting, charging infrastructure and services.