With its eActros LongHaul “concept prototype” Mercedes-Benz Trucks presented a preview of the design language and numerous technical details of its series-production vehicle for heavy-duty long-haul transport planned for 2024 at this year’s IAA Transportation in Hanover.
At the show, logistics company Hegelmann Group, which operates in Europe, and Mercedes-Benz Trucks signed a Letter of Intent for the order of 50 eActros LongHaul. The vehicles are to be delivered to the family-owned company from Bruchsal, Germany with the start of series production in 2024.
Stina Fagerman, Head of Sales, Marketing and Services at Mercedes-Benz Trucks, says: “To make transportation sustainable and emission-free for the future, we need many strong partners at our side. Therefore, we are very pleased about this agreement and the confidence of the Hegelmann Group in the Mercedes-Benz Trucks brand.”
Siegfried Hegelmann, Managing Shareholder at the Hegelmann Group: “The greater the success, the greater the responsibility. We are open to challenges and at the same time we strive for sustainability in our industry.”
Following its presentation at the IAA in Hanover, the eActros LongHaul will be tested on public roads for the first time this year. Intensive customer testing with near-series production ready prototypes is also planned for 2023. In this context, letters of intent were already signed with Amazon and Rhenus in September.
On a single battery charge the eActros LongHaul will have a range of around 500 kilometers. Mercedes-Benz Trucks’ development engineers are designing the eActros LongHaul for the same vehicle and component durability requirements as a comparable conventional heavy-duty long-haul Actros. That means 1.2 million kilometers of mileage over ten years of operation. The eActros LongHaul uses batteries with lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cell technology. Above all, these are characterized by a long service life and more usable energy. eActros LongHaul’s batteries can be charged from 20 to 80 percent in well under 30 minutes at a charging station with about one megawatt of power. Three battery packs deliver a total installed capacity of more than 600 kWh and two electric motors, as part of a new eAxle, generate a continuous output of 400 kW with a peak output of more than 600 kW. In addition to the semitrailer tractor, Mercedes-Benz Trucks is also producing flatbed chassis variants of the eActros LongHaul right from market launch. This offers customers numerous other possible applications in all-electric transport.
The core of the Mercedes-Benz Trucks concept for battery-electric long-distance transport is to offer customers a holistic transport solution comprised of vehicle technology, consulting, charging infrastructure and services. The eActros LongHaul is thus intended to be the right choice for customers in terms of profitability, sustainability and reliability.
