Many MindedGerman haulier runs 30 electric Mercedes tractors on near-1,000 km days
DEFRU Logistik GmbH, a German haulier, has switched thirty heavy-duty tractor units to Mercedes-Benz eActros 600 electric trucks over the past year. According to a LinkedIn post from Benjamin Budick, a Mercedes-Benz Trucks retail manager in Dortmund and Haan, the trucks cover about 1,000 km (roughly 620 miles) on German highways each day, seven days a week. Electrek relayed the post.
The truck carries a 621 kWh battery and is rated for 500 km per charge, so a 1,000 km day implies charging along the way. Trucks can top up en route or while being loaded and unloaded at destinations. Mercedes quotes an efficiency of 1.61 kWh per mile at an average combined weight of 36 metric tons, about 79,400 lbs. The company has also widened the eActros line to more than 40 configurations, with two cab designs, two or three battery sizes and several wheelbases and axle setups.
The significance is the duty cycle. Long-haul freight is the hardest segment for electrification, and an operator running near-continuous high-mileage days suggests charging, rather than range alone, is the working constraint. If that holds, electricity replaces diesel in a major source of freight cost and emissions. The article notes diesel prices rose sharply after the Iran War, which sharpens the economics. Larger orders, including Amazon's 50 eActros trucks and a 1,000-unit order from Holcim, point the same way.
Treat the details with care. The mileage and fleet figures come from a dealer manager's LinkedIn post and are not independently verified. The efficiency number is a Mercedes spec, not measured DEFRU data. The article gives no cost savings, and it does not say how many of the thirty trucks run the 1,000 km route. Watch for operator-reported energy use and cost per km.
Source: Electrek