Great joy at Daimler Truck: The American trading group Amazon orders 200 electric long-haul Mercedes E-Actros 600 trucks. This is the largest order to date in the company’s history for vehicles that are not powered by an internal combustion engine. In the future, the trucks will be used primarily in Great Britain and Germany to transport goods between logistics centers and urban areas and will transport 350 million packages per year without exhaust emissions, as the vehicle manufacturer announced on Monday. “We are very pleased that Amazon “We have chosen the E-Actros 600 as a pioneer of the transformation towards alternative drives,” said Daimler Truck boss Karin Rådström. According to the company, the order is preceded by a practical test of a near-production prototype of the truck in one of Amazon’s logistics centers in Germany. “This is an important milestone for us,” said Andreas Marschner, Vice President of Amazon Worldwide Operations Sustainability, to the Reuters news agency. “Decarbonizing heavy-duty transportation is the most difficult part of transportation.” According to Amazon, this is the company’s largest order of electric trucks to date. The E-Actros 600 has a range of 500 kilometers and, according to Marschner, is therefore well suited for Amazon’s delivery network. Charging network at the delivery centers In order to support the use of the trucks, Amazon is setting up a network of 360 kilowatt fast charging stations at its locations. These can charge a truck from 20 to 80 percent in less than an hour, “which is also compatible with the drivers’ legally required breaks,” explains Marschner. The order is part of Amazon’s commitment to achieve net-zero emissions at all locations by 2040.
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According to information from Daimler Truck, the truck achieves a range of 500 kilometers thanks to the high battery capacity of 600 kilowatt hours and a new electric drive axle that the world’s largest commercial vehicle manufacturer developed itself. “The range is achieved under very realistic, practical conditions with a total train weight of 40 tons and, depending on the driving style and route, can be significantly exceeded,” writes the company. More on the topic When asked, the company did not say anything about the order volume, nor did it say anything about the price of an individual vehicle of the E-Actros 600 type. At the premiere of the electric truck, the company estimated the price to be two to two and a half times as much as a variant powered by a diesel engine. However, there are big differences in the prices of diesel trucks; they vary between 100,000 and 150,000 euros depending on the equipment, service conditions and quantities purchased.
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