Freight forwarder W&P from Prichsenstadt in Bavaria is one of the transport companies that is already relying on e-mobility. The haulage company’s fleet, which includes around 40 Mercedes-Benz vehicles with diesel drive, already has three battery-electric Mercedes-Benz eActros 300, each covering routes of around 480 kilometers per day. The fleet has now been expanded to include 20 Mercedes-Benz eActros 600.

W&P is not only relying on battery-electric vehicles for its transport tasks and logistics services but is also taking another pioneering step in the transformation of the transport industry. Recently, W&P opened a company-owned charging park on its company premises in Prichsenstadt, located in Franconian Vineyards near the A3 motorway and directly on the B286 highway.

The charging park is equipped with 56 DC rapid charging points, which are powered by the company’s own photovoltaic system and a 15,000 kWh battery storage system. During the charging process, truck drivers have access to toilets, showers, waiting rooms and automatic water closets. Mercedes-Benz Trucks supported the company beyond the sale of the vehicles as part of its TruckCharge offer in the design and implementation of the charging fleet as well as in applying for subsidies.

Mercedes-Benz Trucks celebrated the series launch of the eActros 600 at the end of November last year at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Wörth. Deliveries to customers began in December 2024. The electric flagship among Mercedes-Benz Trucks has already proven its capabilities several times under real-life conditions: In customer use and as part of the “eActros 600 European Testing Tour 2024”, a 15,000-kilometer all-electric development trip through a total of 22 countries and the “European Testing Tour Winter 2025” on around 6,500 kilometers through Northern Europe, each with a gross combination mass of 40 tons. In addition, the e-truck was voted “International Truck of the Year 2025”.

The high battery capacity of more than 600 kWh—hence the model designation 600—and a new, particularly efficient electric drive axle developed in-house enable the electric truck to achieve a range of 500 kilometers without intermediate charging. This range is accomplished under very realistic and practical conditions with a gross combination mass of 40 tons, which can also be significantly exceeded depending on the driving style and the route. The eActros 600 will even be able to cover well above 1,000 kilometers per day. Intermediate charging during statutory driver breaks makes this possible, provided that charging options are available.

The eActros 600 has three battery packs, each with 207 kWh. These offer an installed total capacity of 621 kWh. The batteries are based on lithium iron phosphate cell technology (LFP) and are characterized by a long service life. In contrast to other battery cell technologies, more than 95% of the installed capacity can also be used with LFP technology. This enables a higher range with the same amount of installed battery capacity. The vehicle is technically designed for a gross combination mass of up to 44 tons. With a standard semitrailer, the eActros 600 has a payload of around 22 tons in the EU. In some cases, national law may allow a higher payload.

TruckCharge bundles several e-infrastructure offers from Daimler Truck. Under the brand TruckCharge, Daimler Truck is bringing together all its existing and future offerings relating to e-infrastructure and the charging of electric trucks, i.e. consulting, infrastructure, and operations. Daimler Truck offers customers a cost-effective overall package running from energy generation to vehicle operation, so that they can make full use of the potential of electrification. TruckCharge is aimed at truck fleet operators as well as industrial enterprises with their own or externally operated truck fleet. Since vehicles from different manufacturers are generally used, TruckCharge is available regardless of the truck brand.

For the fastest possible ramp-up of locally CO₂-neutral road freight transportation with battery-electric trucks, the charging infrastructure is one of the pivotal points. However, there is still a lot to catch up on. There are currently fewer than 1,000 charging points for heavy commercial vehicles across Europe. To at least partially compensate for the existing deficit, Daimler Truck announced a concept for its own semi-public charging network in March of this year. It is planned to extend to over 3,000 fast charging points in Europe by 2030, making it the largest in Europe. The new semi-public charging option for electric trucks, as a solution provided by the Daimler Truck brand TruckCharge, is intended to enable depots to open their charging infrastructure for third-party paid use. This is planned to be a supplement to the public charging services offered by Milence, among other providers. Milence was founded in July 2022 as a joint venture between Daimler Truck, the TRATON GROUP and the Volvo GROUP and has set itself the goal of setting up and operating 1,700 high-performance public charging points in Europe by 2027.