Big electric trucks are easy to get excited about. They can reduce a lot of emissions – CO2 emissions and other types of pollution that cause cancer, asthma and various other human ailments and death. This is why, ever since the Tesla Semi was unveiled in 2017, many of us have been eagerly awaiting commercial production. While we’re still waiting for that, Mercedes-Benz has just announced that it has started production of its own large electric truck, the eEconic. (I agree — that’s a really confusing name.) This isn’t a long-haul semi-truck, but I’m getting to that Mercedes-Benz truck at the end of the piece after other news about electric trucks and electric trucks from Mercedes Benz.
Electric in series: The Mercedes-Benz eEconic is now rolling off the assembly line at the Wörth plant. Electric in series production: The Mercedes-Benz eEconic now rolls off the production line at the Wörth plant.
Electric in series production: The Mercedes-Benz eEconic now rolls off the production line at the Wörth plant.
Electric in series production: The Mercedes-Benz eEconic now rolls off the production line at the Wörth plant.
Electric in series production: The Mercedes-Benz eEconic now rolls off the production line at the Wörth plant.
Electric in series production: The Mercedes-Benz eEconic now rolls off the production line at the Wörth plant.
Electric in series production: The Mercedes-Benz eEconic now rolls off the production line at the Wörth plant.
Electric in series production: The Mercedes-Benz eEconic now rolls off the production line at the Wörth plant. From left to right: Dr. Ralf Forcher, Head of Mercedes-Benz Special Trucks and Dr. Andreas Bachhofer, head of production and factory manager of the Wörth . plant
The eEconic is now being mass-produced in Wörth, a small town in Germany where less than 20,000 people live. It may not be Austin, Texas or Berlin, Germany, but it will get the job done.
Note that the eEconic is not a long-haul semi-truck. It is an inner-city truck intended for municipal use. This model complements and follows the Mercedes-Benz eActros, an urban electric truck released in October 2021.
“The eEconic was developed together with customers and, after intensive test series, has been field-tested at customers since May 2022,” writes Mercedes-Benz. “The first series production vehicle will be handed over to Urbaser A/S, a company active in the waste management sector in Denmark. Other customers have already opted for the serial eEconic. The vehicles will be delivered successively over the course of the year.”
In addition to the eEconic and eActros, there are other trucks that are produced at the Wörth Daimler Truck factory, such as the Econic, Unimog and Zetros. A total of 470 trucks can be produced in the factory every day. How long will it take for all of them to be electric? That is more than 100,000 trucks per year. We don’t know, nor do we know how many electric trucks are being built today, but it’s definitely a slow start, otherwise we’d know more. What we do know is that Daimler Truck aims to only sell carbon neutral vehicles in North America, Europe and Japan by 2039, and then achieve that feat globally by 2050. If that’s the case, we’re still a long way off. away. …
But that is not everything.
eActros goes up
40 tons gross weight: battery-electric eActros now drives a trailer in the northern Black Forest.
40 tons gross weight: battery-electric eActros now drives a trailer in the northern Black Forest.
40 tons gross weight: battery-electric eActros now drives a trailer in the northern Black Forest.
Regarding the aforementioned eActros, Mercedes-Benz Trucks has just announced some updates on this electric truck. It has now been approved for us “as a truck-trailer combination with a total weight of 40 tons” and can already be ordered with this trailer attachment. About the new offer, one customer said why it meant so much to him: “The eActros as a truck-trailer combination is ideal for our purposes,” says Rainer Schmitt, Managing Partner at Logistik Schmitt. “In combination with the trailer, the electric truck now offers not only a higher total weight, but also significantly more transport volume. This allows us to transport twice as many load carriers on the same journeys.”
Mercedes-Benz Trucks uses the eActros on some of its own routes as part of long-term testing. Since 2019, he has covered 70,000 km (43,500 miles) in 7,000 trips with the electric truck.
And what is the range of the eActros? Here are range and battery details: “The eActros batteries consist of three (eActros 300) or four battery packs (eActros 400), each of which has an installed capacity of 112 kWh.[1] and a usable capacity of approximately 97 kWh[2]. With four battery packs, the eActros 400 has a range of up to 400 kilometers[3].”
It can charge up to 160 kW, or simply and practically put it can take an hour to go from 20% battery capacity to 80% battery capacity when charged at 400 amps.
Where and how do these large electric trucks charge?
To help with charging, customer testing, etc., Mercedes-Benz Trucks has set up an eTruck Charging Park in Wörth. “In the eTruck Charging Park, electric truck customers can now test charging stations and charging concepts from different manufacturers and collaborate with experts from Mercedes-Benz Trucks on site to develop charging solutions tailored to their respective applications. Charging technology is provided for testing and combined with a comprehensive suite of advisory services to help customers transition smoothly to e-mobility,” the German giant writes.
An easy gateway to electric mobility: Mercedes-Benz Trucks opens charging park for customers in Wörth.
At the moment there are 6 charging stations available from different companies. They range from 40 kW to 300 kW in power.
Electric long-haul truck from Mercedes-Benz
Future-proof, sustainable and flexible: Mercedes-Benz Wörth plant sets course for future series production of battery-electric and fuel cell trucks.
Developing a long-haul electric truck is probably the most difficult business in this emerging industry. But the work is underway. And it looks like Mercedes-Benz can bring Tesla into this segment.
The Mercedes-Benz eActros LongHaul truck is under development and should hit the market in 2022. So far, five prototypes have been built for testing. “For the important long-haul segment, the eActros LongHaul, with a range of about 500 kilometers on a single battery charge, is planned for series production in 20×24.”
For more information on the eEconic news, here is the press release from Mercedes-Benz.
For more information on the eActros news, click here.
More information about the eTruck Charging Park can be found here.
For more info and quotes on the electric truck long haul update, well, You know what to do.
Do you appreciate CleanTechnica’s originality and cleantech news coverage? Consider becoming one CleanTechnica member, supporter, technician or ambassador — or a patron on Patreon.
