Amazon places mammoth Merc electric truck order

By Categories: NewsPublished On: Friday 17 January 2025

Online retail giant Amazon has or­dered over 200 battery-electric trucks: choosing the Mercedes- Benz eActros 600. This is the larg­est order for electric trucks in the history of both Mercedes-Benz Trucks and Amazon, and most of the trucks are destined for the UK.

Over the next 18 months, the eActros 600 trucks will be de­ployed across high-mileage routes in Amazon’s middle-mile network in the UK and Germany transport­ing cargo containers to and from Amazon’s fulfilment centres, sort centres and delivery stations. Be­fore placing the order, Amazon test­ed a prototype eActros 600 at one of its logistics centres in Germany.

More than 140 of the eActros 600 trucks will be deployed in the UK and are expected to transport more than 300 million packages each year with no exhaust emis­sions once fully operational.

Amazon intends to install addi­tional fast-charging infrastructure across its key UK sites, including 360kW electric charging points capable of charging the eActros 600 trucks from 20 to 80 per cent in just over an hour. The electric trucks have a range of 310 miles (500 km) on a full charge.

The high battery capacity of over 600 kilowatt hours – hence the model designation 600 – and a new, highly-efficient electric drive-axle developed in-house en­able the eActros truck to achieve its 500km range without interme­diate charging.

This is achieved in realistic and practical conditions with a gross combination mass of 40 tonnes, and can also be sig­nificantly exceeded depending on the driving style and route. Inter­mediate charging during statutory driver breaks – even without meg­awatt charging (MCS) – mean the eActros 600 could cover over 1,000 kilometres per day, if charg­ing infrastructure is available.