Amazon has placed its largest-ever order of more than 200 battery-electric heavy goods vehicles – and has selected the Mercedes-Benz eActros 600 – also the largest order for electric trucks in the history of Mercedes-Benz Trucks.
Over the next 18 months, the eActros 600 trucks will be deployed across high-mileage routes in Amazon’s middle-mile network in the UK and Germany transporting cargo containers to and from Amazon’s fulfilment centres, sort centres and delivery stations. Before placing the order, Amazon undertook testing of a prototype eActros 600 at one of its logistics centres in Germany.
More than 140 of the eActros 600 trucks will be deployed in the UK and are expected to transport more than 300 million packages each year with no exhaust emissions once fully operational.
Amazon intends to install additional fast charging infrastructure across its key UK sites, including 360kW electric charging points capable of charging the eActros 600 trucks from 20 to 80 per cent in just over an hour.
The high battery capacity of over 600 kilowatt hours – hence the model designation 600 – and a new, highly efficient electric drive axle developed in-house enable the eActros truck to achieve a range of 500 kilometers (310 miles) without intermediate charging. This range is achieved in realistic and practical conditions with a gross combination mass of 40 tonnes, which can also be significantly exceeded depending on the driving style and route.
Intermediate charging during statutory driver breaks – even without megawatt charging (MCS) – mean the eActros 600 could cover over 1,000 kilometres per day, as long as charging infrastructure is available.
This flagship eHGV has already proven its capabilities several times under real-life conditions: In customer use and as part of the “eActros 600 European Testing Tour 2024”, a 15,000 kilometres all-electric development trip through a total of 22 countries with a gross combination mass of 40 tonnes.
In addition, the eActros has been voted “International Truck of the Year 2025”. The award is the most important prize in the industry and is presented annually by the International Truck of the Year (IToY) organisation, consisting of 24 commercial vehicle journalists from Europe.
