Mercedes has officially launched production of its new electric semi truck, the eActros 600. It's the company's impressive answer to the Tesla Semi.
Built in Daimler Truck's Wörth factory in Germany — which produces Mercedes' commercial vehicle range — the eActros 600 is the long-haul version of the brand's already popular eActros 300 and 400 models, which handle short- and mid-range duties.
As reported by Electrek, Mercedes says the eActros 600 has a range of 500 kilometers on a single charge, provided by a massive 600-plus kWh battery. If a driver recharges the truck during a break, the eActros can haul cargo more than 1,000 kilometers in a single day.
For reference, the Tesla Semi's max range on a single charge is also 500 miles.
Mercedes' entrance into the electric long-haul semi truck market is a huge boost for reducing carbon emissions in the transportation industry.
According to the EPA, the trucking industry in the U.S. is responsible for 23% of all greenhouse gas emissions produced on the road today. The American Trucking Associations reported over 331 billion miles were driven by commercial trucks in 2022. Converting most of those miles to emissions-free trips by electric semi trucks would be a significant help in reducing the climate impact of the trucking industry.
And truck manufacturers are providing the electric trucks to do it.
In addition to the new Mercedes, and the Tesla Semi, Volvo has been making electric semi trucks since 2019 that have traveled 50 million miles emissions-free so far, according to Electrek. That's impressive.
Freightliner also announced its new electric truck, the eCascadia, earlier this year. And Danish company Danfoss is also producing all-electric haulers.
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It's easy to imagine a future in which brands tout their green shipping fleets in advertising, giving consumers a choice of buying products they know will be driven in electric trucks.
Mercedes is certainly on the front foot in making that change.
"The start of series production of our eActros 600 is a further proof of our ambition to transform the industry," said Karin Rådström, CEO of Daimler Truck.
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