Mercedes-Benz Trucks is celebrating the first series-production eActros to roll off the factory floor at the Wörth plant in Germany.
The production milestone was marked on October 7 and is the brand’s first all-electric truck bearing the three-pointed star emblem.
It also marks an important step towards the company’s goal of completely switching its European product portfolio over to electrically powered trucks by 2039.
The Wörth plant’s Future Truck Center is the heart of series production operations and is set to deliver more Mercedes-Benz all-electric models such as the eEconic which is scheduled to start in the second half of 2022.
The battery-electric eActros LongHaul, for long-distance transport, is scheduled to be ready for series production in 2024.
The eActros is built alongside conventional drive system trucks on one assembly line before it reaches the Future Truck Center for its electrification where high-voltage components are assembled in various production steps.
Once the electrification assembly is complete, the truck is ready to drive and is reintegrated into the regular production process for finishing and final inspection.
More than 2500 employees received further training for the production of electric trucks.
The model is available as a two or three-axle truck with 19 or 27 tonnes permissible gross weight.
It is equipped with either three or four battery packs, each with an energy capacity of around 105kWh. The maximum battery capacity of 420 kWh enables ranges of up to 400 kilometres.
Karin Rådström, Daimler Truck AG board member responsible for Mercedes-Benz Trucks, says the start of the eActros series production is “solid proof that we’re serious about zero-emission transport”.
“The eActros, Mercedes-Benz’ first battery-electric serial truck, and our related services are a major step for us and for our customers towards CO2-neutral road haulage.
“And the vehicle also has a very special significance for the Wörth plant and its long-term orientation: the future of Mercedes-Benz truck production is starting today. We want to greatly expand the series production of our electric trucks here,” Rådström says.
Wörth plant and production head Dr Andreas Bachhofer says the site is becoming “the hub for the transport of the future in the Mercedes-Benz truck production network”.
“We are combining our technological know-how with fully flexible and efficient production, and all of this in a CO2-neutral, digitalised factory with the corresponding logistics and infrastructure.”
In addition to the products, the entire Wörth site will be CO2-neutral from 2022.
It includes power procurement from renewable energy sources such as wind and solar farms as well as hydroelectric power plants from 2022 onwards.
