A Mercedes-Benz eActros field trial has seen the 25-tonne truck cover 50,000 electric kilometers.
The truck has been running in Germany since July 2019. In that time, it has driven up to 300km a day for Logistik Schmitt.
As a result, the eActros has moved 30,000 tonnes of materials in around 5,000 trips.
Mercedes-Benz says the eActros field trial has proven battery-electric trucks can perform the same tasks as diesels.
Logistik Schmitt has, since the beginning of the year, been running the truck on a new catenary route.
In fact, the eActros was not meant to start driving on this road until the middle of 2021.
At this point a new and updated version of the vehicle was due to be delivered and used for the trial.
However, Mercedes-Benz wanted to take advantage of the progress made and use the original prototype for the job.
“We are focusing our development activities on batteries and hydrogen-based fuel-cells,” said Dr. Manfred Schuckert from Daimler.
Schuckert explained that the two technologies meet all customer use cases and allow flexibility within the routes.
Furthermore, the eActros field test proved that battery-electric trucks are suited to heavy-duty urban distribution, he stated.
“For use cases that require longer ranges and loads, we plan to include the eActros LongHaul in our portfolio of series products beginning in 2024.
Meanwhile, the Logistik Schmitt team is happy with the performance of the electric truck.
“If we encounter closed roads or construction sites we need to be flexible,” explained Rainer Schmitt, executive partner of Logistik Schmitt.
“This is precisely what the eActros with its battery-electric drive system can do.
“As a result, we were also able to use the truck on the additional new route at short notice.
In conclusion, Schmitt said the eActros was fully integrated into the fleet.
