Mercedes-Benz Trucks is planning an unusual activity to draw attention to topics relevant to the transport industry and society: electrification, road safety and truck driver image. For this purpose, the manufacturer will have its new e-flagship, the battery-electric eActros 600 long-haul truck, including a semitrailer, reverse more than 100 kilometers without a break.
Mercedes-Benz Trucks intends to bring the previous Guinness World Records title from 2020, which stood at around 89 kilometers and was set in the USA with a diesel truck, back to Germany. The drive in reverse is scheduled to take place in Oschersleben in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt on June 4th.
Mercedes-Benz Trucks plans to set the new record on a closed-off track and then, independently of the record attempt, to reverse around 30 kilometers on public roads. The finishing line is at the Daimler Truck Global Parts Center in Halberstadt, also in Saxony-Anhalt. The new location will officially open on July 10th. Starting this year, it will gradually take on worldwide deliveries of spare parts for Mercedes-Benz Trucks.
Marco Hellgrewe (50) from Werneuchen near Berlin, an officer in the German Armed Forces and a truck enthusiast, set his record in 2008. Back then, he covered a distance of 64 kilometers in a diesel truck. Hellgrewe kicked off the new all-electric record attempt and will be at the wheel of the eActros 600.
Marco Hellgrewe, initiator of the electric record attempt and driver of the eActros 600: “As a passionate truck driver, it is an honor for me to try to set this record again. A lot has happened in terms of technology since my first record-breaking drive – and to date no one in the world has taken this record with an electric truck. The eActros 600 represents the future of electric mobility in long-distance haulage and shows how manufacturers are successfully breaking new ground. Reversing for so many hours is a big challenge, but the test drives so far have gone very well. It’s a lot of fun and very pleasant to be on the road with the eActros 600. I would like to take this opportunity to already express my heartfelt thanks to Mercedes-Benz Trucks for all their support.”
Mercedes-Benz Trucks celebrated the series launch of the eActros 600 at the end of November last year at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Wörth. Deliveries to customers began in December 2024.
The electric flagship from Mercedes-Benz Trucks 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-kilometer all-electric development trip through a total of 22 countries and the “European Testing Tour Winter 2025” on around 6,500 kilometers through Northern Europe, each with a gross combination mass of 40 tons.
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) organization, consisting of 24 commercial vehicle journalists from Europe.
The high battery capacity of over 600 kilowatt hours – hence the model designation 600 – and a new, particularly efficient electric drive axle developed in-house enable the electric truck to achieve a range of 500 kilometers[1] without intermediate charging. This range is accomplished under very realistic and practical conditions with a gross combination mass of 40 tons, which can also be significantly exceeded depending on the driving style and the route.
The eActros 600 will even be able to cover well over 1,000 kilometers per day. Intermediate charging during statutory driver breaks makes this possible, provided that charging options are available.
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 designed the eActros 600 to meet the same requirements for the durability of vehicles and components as a comparable conventional heavy-duty long-haul Actros. This 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 above 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 enables a higher range with the same amount of installed battery capacity. 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 allow a higher payload.
