The truck reduces its speed on the Autobahn 81 exit with almost no vibration. Tobias Hartmann turns onto the road to Möckmühl and accelerates just as noiselessly. In the driver’s cab, the ringing of the cell phone drowns out the hum of the engine. “The annoying shaking that diesel trucks have doesn’t exist here,” says the transport expert from Kaufland about the electric Actros 300 from Daimler Truck, while gray halls appear in the distance. The distribution center of Europe’s largest trading group in the north of Baden-Württemberg. The tractor with the green trailer regularly transports fruit and vegetables, frozen food, milk, yoghurt and oatmeal from the warehouse in the small town near Heilbronn to ten Kaufland stores in and around Ludwigsburg. The company has been using eight such trailers in a test project since December to see how carbon dioxide emissions can be reduced when delivering to branches. In recent days, Kaufland has taken stock. “We show that electromobility works for this application,” says Alexander Frohmann, Managing Director of Transport Logistics at Kaufland. “The high level of reliability surprised us.”Kaufland is investing in its own charging park. The routes with a return journey are around 150 kilometers long, the trucks run on fixed routes, the topography is known and the traffic volume can be easily planned – all factors that contribute to this According to Frohmann, the use of electric vehicles is encouraged. The tractors are charged in a charging park with eight columns that Kaufland built right next to the distribution center. The costs amount to a small single-digit million amount. The charging stations have an output of 150 kilowatts. If all eight trucks are at their stations and draw electricity at the same time, it takes an hour for all vehicles with a total range of up to 250 kilometers to recharge their batteries charged from 20 to 80 percent. The Swedish company Einride provides the trucks supported by the so-called KSNI program, which the freight company Adam Serr, based in Bad Wimpfen in Baden-Württemberg, has rented and uses for the tours. “The freight forwarder receives transport orders from us and we pay him with the tour price,” explains Frohmann. A fixed rate is charged for the electricity purchased. “As a trading company, we have the responsibility to take action against emissions from the transport sector, a third of which are caused by trucks,” says Frohmann, describing the motives of the project. “Electromobility offers us a very good opportunity to do this when it comes to branch deliveries.” The company also promotes its noble goals very aggressively. “Kaufland’s coolest climate protector” is written in large letters on the trailer.Electromobility has to pay off. But it is also clear that the retail group would not have taken this step out of idealism alone. Trucks are capital goods that have to pay off. And that is the case with branch deliveries. “We are already cheaper to travel with electric trucks than with diesel vehicles,” says Frohmann. The manager does not mention the exact cost difference or the exact electricity price for the vehicles. “But after about three years, the expenses for the charging park will have been paid off,” explains Frohmann. Always assuming that “we do the logistical work” to maximize the efficiency of the trucks. The transport logistics specialist means careful route planning, proactive loading and avoiding empty runs. At an in-house trade fair a few days ago, Kaufland invited its freight forwarders to bring them together with manufacturers of electric trucks and thus reduce reservations about electromobility in the transport industry. In the future, Kaufland wants to expand the use of electric trucks for branch deliveries to other locations and over longer distances . Typically, the distribution centers provide food for 150 to 180 stores, which are on average 150 kilometers away from the warehouses. “By 2030, electric trucks will be the cheaper alternative in many more applications – and we are preparing for that,” says Frohmann. The reason lies not least in the foreseeable rise in the price of carbon dioxide emissions. “The cost increases for diesel are not yet foreseeable, but through certificate trading we expect disproportionate price increases by 2026 at the latest.” Despite all the enthusiasm about the success on the trips between the tranquil Möckmühl and Ludwigsburg: Alexander Frohmann is also clear that the vegetables – and milk deliveries over short distances do not solve the problem of heavy-duty emissions. “We now want to find further use cases based on the experience we have gained. But we can’t do this alone,” says Frohmann. “We have to do this together with manufacturers, network operators and freight forwarders.” And with politics, the Kaufland manager calls for more commitment. “We need more commitment, more clarity – there is not enough, especially when it comes to the charging infrastructure.” Especially if the goal is to make all heavy-duty transport emission-free, because then charging points are necessary along the major transport axes. “The mass market will be “We only move when there is sufficient charging infrastructure available,” said Daimler Truck boss Martin Daum a few weeks ago. Series production of the Actros 600, which can travel 500 kilometers on a single battery charge, will begin there at the end of the year. The fact that electromobility has arrived in manageable delivery traffic does not surprise the world’s largest truck manufacturer. The electric Actros 300 has been in series production since the end of 2021. The drugstore chain dm and the grocer Rewe also use electric trucks to supply their branches. Now Kaufland is following suit.More on the topicMöckmühl’s project has not only brought about changes at the retail group, but also at the shipping company commissioned by Kaufland. “We will be setting up a charging infrastructure at our home location this year, and from next year we will also have five electric trucks on the road,” says Albert Bolinth, authorized representative at Adam Serr, a company that specializes in food transport. “Our customers are showing great interest.” However, the drivers will not be driving Daimler Truck vehicles next year. The shipping company chose vehicles from its competitor DAF.
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