DACHSER takes delivery of Mercedes-Benz eActros
In Stuttgart, DACHSER has set up its first emission-free delivery zone in an area covering approximately four square kilometers. With the addition of the Mercedes-Benz eActros, the all-electric vehicle mix for the city center is now complete.
With its innovative city logistics concept known as DACHSER Emission-Free Delivery, DACHSER is providing emission-free and sustainable deliveries of groupage shipments in downtown Stuttgart. The company has plans to roll out the concept in other city centers, too. A number of different vehicles feature in Stuttgart: maneuverable, electrically assisted cargo bikes, which are used for the last mile, and a compact, all-electric 7.5-ton FUSO eCanter truck, which is also based in the city center. With the addition of the 18-ton Daimler eActros, the all-electric vehicle mix is now complete.
“It was well worth the wait,” says Stefan Hohm, Corporate Director, Corporate Solutions, Research & Development. “We plan to use the eActros for transporting deliveries both directly to customers and to the microhub in the Heslach district of Stuttgart. From there, our lighter vehicles will take over inner-city deliveries.” Once employees have been briefed and completed all the requisite training, DACHSER will integrate the eActros into its ongoing test operations. As with the eCanter, the truck will be used in professional driver training.
Putting it through its paces
The eActros has a payload of 4 to 5 metric tons, depending on the design, and offers space for 18 pallets. With a range of 200 kilometers, it is ideal for daily delivery transports in and around Stuttgart city center. Its 240 kWh lithium-ion batteries charge in 2 hours at 150 kW. According to the Mercedes-Benz Trucks division, the prototype is set to go into large-scale production in 2021.
It might be DACHSER’s heaviest electric truck to date, but this doesn’t compromise performance or the driving experience. “The eActros is a great truck. When it comes to driving comfort, it is a clear cut above conventional diesel vehicles. You hardly feel any vibrations, you can’t hear the engine, and the acceleration is enormous. I’m proud to be one of the first professional drivers to drive the eActros,” says Oliver Ducqué, a professional driver trainee at the DACHSER branch in Kornwestheim. He will be putting the eActros through its paces on the streets of Stuttgart over the next few months.
In conducting these test operations, DACHSER is gathering the data and experience it needs to determine the right vehicle mix for sustainable deliveries of groupage shipments to city centers. In addition to Stuttgart, tests are also underway in Berlin, Freiburg, Karlsruhe, Cologne, Málaga, Mannheim, Paris, Tübingen, and Ulm. In addition to Stuttgart, tests are also underway in other cities, including Berlin, Freiburg, Karlsruhe, Cologne, Málaga, Mannheim, Paris, Tübingen, and Ulm. “We’re not looking to take a one-size-fits-all approach. Rather, we want to come up with a range of solutions, each of them focused on optimizing deliveries, routes, and times,” says Hohm says.
100 percent hydroelectric power
DACHSER is the first company in the groupage market to offer emission-free deliveries for heavy, palleted goods for a defined area in the center of a major city. Like all 70 of DACHSER’s German branches, the Kornwestheim branch north of Stuttgart purchases 100 percent hydroelectric power. That means vehicle charging, too, is a sustainable part of the electric supply chain.
