Daimler Truck has once again sent its two near-production prototypes of the Mercedes-Benz eActros 600 on a testing tour through Northern Europe – but this time during the cold season in sometimes very wintry conditions.
The objective of the “European Testing Tour Winter 2025” was to test the practicality of the battery-electric eActros 600 – which has since been awarded the International Truck of the Year 2025 and is in series production – in representative winter operation in Northern Europe on different routes and topographies as well as in different climate zones, gaining important insights into the effect of winter temperatures and road conditions on the energy consumption of the eActros 600.
Of the around 6,500 kilometers covered through Northern Europe, over half of the tour took place on identical routes to the northern part of the almost seven-week European Testing Tour that took place in summer 2024. Once again, the two trucks were on the road with a gross combination mass of 40 tons.
The 16-day tour set off northwards in mid-January from Wörth am Rhein. The route first went through Germany, Denmark, Sweden, and Finland to the Arctic Circle. It then went back to Stuttgart and Wörth via Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Austria. On their journey through ten countries in Northern Europe, the electric trucks were sometimes on the road at extreme temperatures between -18 and 9 degrees Celsius. The daily average speeds ranged from 64 to 77 kilometers per hour.
A more detailed analysis of a representative section of the route, which was completed after a cold start at an average temperature of -2 degrees Celsius and on energy efficiency class B tires on a snow-free road surface, shows an increase in consumption of approximately 25 percent compared to the same distance on efficiency class A tires. Five percent of this is due to the climate control of the cab at a pleasant 21 degrees Celsius. Less than one percent was used to heat the battery.
Other auxiliary consumers accounted for well below one percent of the additional consumption. Roughly four percent of this was caused by lower recuperation power compared to the summer, which is largely due to increased rolling and air resistance. At around 15 percent, the latter account for the remaining lion’s share of the increase in consumption.
On particularly demanding routes with predominantly snow-covered and partially icy roads, the increased energy consumption rose to almost 50 percent compared to driving in summer on efficiency class A tires. This is primarily due to the significantly increased motion resistance. The drive-independent rolling resistance of the energy efficiency class D Scandinavian tires designed for these extreme winter conditions played a significant role in this.
Pleasant temperatures when driving, living, and sleeping in the driver’s cab have little influence on the range
This means that drivers do not have to freeze in the eActros 600 or scrimp on heating, even in winter. For example, the four engineers covered almost 3,000 kilometers in the first five days and spent day and night in their trucks.
“During the day, we set the temperature to 21 degrees Celsius and at night to 19 degrees Celsius for sleeping – at outside temperatures between -7 and 4 degrees Celsius,” explained Werner Kempfle, development engineer and co-project manager of the eActros 600, who was also on the tour. This only led to a reduction in range of two to five percent. With regard to total consumption, the so-called “hoteling” share is therefore hardly significant, and even with a battery-electric eActros 600, you don’t have to worry about not being able to reach your destination as a result of heating the cab.
Suitable public truck charging infrastructure remains the exception
As in the summer, the electric trucks were charged exclusively at public charging stations in the winter.
Especially in winter, in very cold temperatures and snow, this is a great relief for the drivers. “Ultimately, however, we also have to admit that this was rather the exception, and that charging infrastructure still needs to be expanded in most of the cases we have seen,” Gottstein continues.
Charging process at a glance with the new “Mercedes-Benz Trucks Remote 3.0” app
The newly introduced “Mercedes-Benz Trucks Remote 3.0” app for the eActros 600 has also made life much easier for drivers. The mobile app is a digital interface between the driver and the truck that can be used to call up important status information, such as the battery status and state of charge, or to receive push notifications.
About the eActros 600
The eActros 600 has three battery packs, each with 207 kWh. These offer an installed total capacity of 621 kWh. The batteries are based on lithium iron phosphate cell technology (LFP) and are characterized by a long service life.
The development engineers at Mercedes-Benz Trucks have designed the eActros 600 to meet the same requirements on the durability of the vehicle and components as a comparable conventional heavy-duty long-haul Actros. That means up to 1.2 million kilometers in ten years of operation. After this period of use, the battery state of health should still be over 80 percent. In contrast to other battery cell technologies, more than 95 percent of the installed capacity can also be used with LFP technology. This makes a higher range with the same installed battery capacity possible.
The vehicle is technically designed for a gross combination mass of up to 44 tons. With a standard semitrailer, the eActros 600 has a payload of around 22 tons in the EU. In some cases, national law may permit a higher payload.
Visually, the long-haul e-truck is characterized by a fundamentally new, puristic design with clear lines and an aerodynamic shape. 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.
Daimler Truck celebrated the start of series production of the eActros 600 at the end of November last year at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Wörth. The eActros 600 has been delivered to customers since December 2024. In addition, the e-truck was 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.
