Two battery-electric Mercedes-Benz eActros are now in operation in Switzerland: one for the logistics service provider Camion Transport and another one for the retail company Migros. The official handover took place at Mercedes-Benz Trucks in Schlieren near Zurich. The vehicles are part of the so-called eActros ‘innovation fleet’ to test heavy-duty electric trucks with customers.
The 18-tonne truck with Camion Transport is used to transport general cargo for commerce, trade and industry in St. Gallen, while the 25-tonne truck in operation with Migros transports goods for supermarket branches in the Zurich area. Each eActros has to cover around 150 km per day, which is well within the range of the eActros’ reach of up to 200 km. The batteries are recharged at the customers’ depots in the evening.
Jürg Lüthi, CEO, Mercedes-Benz Trucks Schweiz AG, said: “In Germany the locally emission-free eActros is already undergoing intensive practical testing with various customers. With Camion Transport and Migros, we are now happy to welcome the first two Swiss customers from different business sectors to further enrich our tests.”
The Mercedes-Benz eActros is on the road for Camion Transport mainly as part of its sustainability project “Emisson-free to the City Center”. The electric truck transports general cargo from the Schwarzenbach Camion city hub to the nearby St. Gallen microhub. The eActros is also able to flexibly serve other delivery points in the St. Gallen urban area. The cargo is transported in a swap body with a lifting platform.
Josef Jäger, Director, Camion Transport AG, said: “The topic of sustainable management is one that is deeply anchored in our company group. With the testing of the Mercedes-Benz eActros and the resulting experience, we are taking a further step towards our goal of supplying city centres emission-free from 2025.”
Migros uses the eActros to supply the Migros supermarket branches in downtown Zurich and the surrounding area from its distribution centre in Zürich-Herdern. The routes pose different topographic challenges for the vehicle (e.g. mountainous terrain). The eActros for Migros has a box body with refrigeration option, which can be used to transport entire pallets of goods such as chilled fresh goods.
Marco Grob, Head of Transport Logistics, Migros Cooperative, Zurich: “With the Mercedes-Benz eActros, we will supply our supermarket branches in Zurich locally emission-free – an important milestone in the spirit of our corporate philosophy, characterised by a sense of economic, social and ecological responsibility.”
As part of practical testing of the eActros innovation fleet, the 18 or 25-tonne vehicles are put through their paces by 20 customers from various sectors as part of their regular daily operations. The tests of this “Innovation Fleet” are made up of two phases, each with ten customers. Feedback from these practical tests flows directly into further development of the eActros for series production. The aim is to make clean and quiet distribution in urban areas possible with heavy-duty trucks from 2021 onward. The first eActros has already been in operation with a customer since September 2018.