With a load of up to 40 tonnes on board, development engineers from Mercedes-Benz Trucks have successfully completed a test run across the Alps with the battery-electric eActros 600, heading from Stuttgart to Bolzano in South Tyrol via the steep rise to the Swabian Jura mountain range.

Despite the demanding topography, the e-truck managed the 530km trip completely without intermediate charging and arrived in Bolzano after a roughly seven hour journey. After a single charge, the engineers started off on the home run – once again with no intermediate charging. This means the fully loaded eActros 600 travelled more than 1000km with only one stop for charging.

Set top celebrate its world premiere on 10 October, with series production to start in 2024, the eActros 600 will boast three battery packs with a total installed capacity of more than 600kW and two electric motors, as part of the new electric axle, to generate a continuous output of 400kW and a peak output of 600kW.

The lithium iron phosphate cell technology (LFP) batteries used in the eActros 600 are characterised in particular by a long service life and a high level of usable energy. The series version of the eActros 600 is designed to facilitate both CCS charging at up to 400kW and megawatt charging (MCS).

In addition to the semitrailer tractor, Mercedes-Benz Trucks will also produce rigid variants of the eActros 600. The development engineers at Mercedes-Benz Trucks design 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 1.2-million kilometres in ten years of operation.