Two more 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 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.

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.

—Jürg Lüthi, CEO Mercedes-Benz Trucks Schweiz AG

The Mercedes-Benz eActros is on the road for Camion Transport mainly as part of its sustainability project “Emission-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.

Migros uses the eActros to supply the Migros supermarket branches in downtown Zurich and the surrounding area from its distribution center 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.

The refrigerated replacement box on the eActros used by Migros is the “W.KO COOL” model supplied by Schmitz Cargobull. It has optimum insulation for energy-efficient transport of refrigerated goods. This robust body is ideally suited for intensive day-to-day use. The purely electrically operated cooling unit functions completely emission-free and is specially designed for use in distribution traffic.