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Mercedes-Benz eActros Design

In 2016 Mercedes-Benz Trucks became the first manufacturer in the world with a heavy-duty electric truck. The technology pioneer is now taking the logical next step: putting its electric truck, the eActros, out on the road with customers. Ten vehicles in two variants, with a gross vehicle weight of 18 or 25 tonnes, will be handed over in the next few weeks to customers, who will be testing their everyday feasibility and economic efficiency under real-life conditions. The long-term aim: locally emission-free and quiet driving in urban environments with series-production trucks. At the IAA Commercial Vehicles show in Hanover, back in 2016, Mercedes-Benz displayed its concept for a heavy-duty electric distribution truck for urban areas. The feedback to the technical feasibility of building such a vehicle was positive across the board – from the general public, politicians and customers. In Germany alone, around 150 very serious enquiries were received. Using expertise from across the whole Daimler Group, an interdisciplinary team from Daimler Trucks has designed a vehicle capable of coping with everyday distribution operations, a small number of which are due to be handed over to customers very soon. A number of technical and, above all, business-related issues remain outstanding, key among them the range and cost of the batteries, but also the infrastructure required for their use as part of customers' commercial fleets.