The Mercedes-Benz eActros all-electric truck has officially launched in Aotearoa, with NZ Post adding the first unit to its fleet.

The eActros was first revealed in New Zealand at EROAD’s Hamilton Fleet Day in July last year, and has since undergone a year of validation testing on both North and South Island roads.

Made possible with funding from EECA, the acquisition of the truck came after it was trialled by six different transport companies under a range of load and operating conditions. One of those trialling the truck was NZ Post’s freight and logistic company, Fliway Group.

The 19-tonne truck features next-generation battery technology, alongside advanced safety and driver assistance systems, plus online performance monitoring and data collection.

It will be based in the greater Auckland area and operate daily between the Northshore and Silverdale, covering more than 300km.

NZ Post was the first company in New Zealand to add a hydrogen-powered truck to its fleet last year when it took possession of a Hyundai XCIENT Fuel Cell truck – which is due to hit its first 100,000km in the next few weeks.

It also invested in a FUSO eCanter, which will now move to Wellington to be tested in a new delivery network environment.

NZ Post Group Sustainability Manager Dawn Baggaley said NZ Post is focussed on decarbonising its transport fleet so investing in sustainable, zero and reduced emission vehicles is another move in the right direction.

“Heavy transport plays a vital role in our economy, but it’s also a significant contributor to our national emissions,” Baggaley said.

“Bringing the eActros truck into our fleet is just another milestone in our sustainability journey and step towards our goal of transitioning to net-zero emissions operations by 2050.”

NZ Post’s first electric FUSO eCanter truck, which was also co-funded by EECA, has been on New Zealand’s roads since 2022 and completed in excess of 90,000km moving freight.

“We believe both hydrogen and electric vehicles have a place in our business and will continue to trial and invest in initiatives that align with our sustainability goals,” said Baggaley.

“For the last few years, we have been actively researching and deploying low-carbon solutions within our heavy transport network and we’ve seen the viability and reliability of using both electric and hydrogen trucks.

“This is the second electric truck we are trialling and since we started trials, we’ve seen improvements in technology and capability. We plan to continue trialling different electric trucks to see what makes and models are best suited for our operational requirements.”