Mercedes Trucks, the truck division of Mercedes, has achieved unprecedented strides by offering a fully electric alternative to its heavy-duty vehicles. As large commercial trucks gradually transition towards electrification, they are becoming increasingly advanced.
In 2021, Mercedes brought the eActros to dealerships, and now it has announced a long-range variant set to hit the market in 2024.
The Mercedes eActros LongHaul truck has a range of approximately 500 kilometers and will enter series production in less than two years. In fact, Mercedes is already testing the 40-ton truck, and its engineers are set to begin on-road testing later this year.
The parent company aims to be a carbon-neutral truck entity in Europe, Japan, and North America by 2039, so it has no choice but to embrace updates, focusing on batteries and hydrogen for total electrification.
Returning to the eActros LongHaul, Mercedes’ long-range electric trucks will be able to utilize a high-power charging infrastructure: “megawatt charging,” the company claims, compatible with the upcoming megawatt charging system developed jointly with Volvo and Traton of the Volkswagen Group, which includes SCANIA and MAN.
As far as we know, the primary (but not necessarily the only) battery supplier for Mercedes’ electric trucks will be CATL, mentioned in the eActros LongHaul project.
Mercedes Trucks is also preparing other variants of the eActros, particularly the eActros 300 and eActros 400, and starting in July, the eEconic is scheduled to roll off the assembly line in Wörth, Germany, as the second fully electric production truck. To introduce the electric vehicles to truck customers across Europe, the manufacturer will host an event for several weeks in early June.
This will contribute to the development of a high-performance public charging network for long-distance battery-electric trucks and heavy-duty buses in Europe. The three-way charging network will be available to fleet operators in Europe, regardless of the brand. Globally, the German group is also electrifying the Mitsubishi Fuso and Freightliner brands.
