Amazon places mammoth Merc electric truck order
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.