ACU Dec-18 Final LR

TRUCKING
reality in cities by 2021, also with
series heavy-duty trucks – and all of
this as economically viable as with a
diesel truck. The test series consists
of t wo p h a s e s , e a c h w i t h 1 0
customers and spanning a total of
around two years.
The first eActros of the so-called
"innovation fleet" has been in action
since September with a customer,
and the second one was handed over
at the beginning of October. The rest
of the first phase of vehicle handovers
will be completed by the end of
the year.
All test customers transport goods
in urban areas and use the eActros for
tasks which would otherwise be
carried out by conventional diesel
vehicles – in a wide range of different
sectors and categories. The palette
ranges from food to building and
industrial materials. The body
variants range from refrigerated and
box bodies to bulk goods and
tarpaulin bodies.
Field tests, the real benchmark
Oliver Kraft, Head of Key Account
Management Mercedes-Benz Trucks
Germany, said the practical tests of
the eActros are very important for the
company to gauge it effectively.
" Each customer makes a
valuable contribution
towards the further
development right up to
series production by using
and testing the eActros in a
very special area of
everyday operation. Our
experts are available to our
customers around the
clock. Before starting, we
have given our customers
intensive advice,” he said.
“That includes working together to
define their individual requirements,
choose the corresponding variant of
the eActros and sort out questions
about the required infrastructure.
Before the tests started, our experts
gave the drivers and the customers'
dispatchers thorough coaching,” he
added.
Matthias Strehl, Managing Director
of Meyer-Logistik , said using
alternative drive concepts are an
i m p o r t a n t a s p e c t o f t h e i r
commitment to their customers.
"As a company that supplies
supermarkets with foodstuffs in
metropolitan areas, we would like to
keep the impact of our work on
humans and the environment as
small as possible. That is why using
alternative drive concepts has been
such an important part of our
corporate strategy long since. We are
happy to be able to test drive the
eActros in Hamburg now,” he said.
Adding: “We think e-trucks are
perfect for delivering over that last
mile – for example to supermarkets.
Because they are locally emissionfree
and very silent, which really
re d u c e s t h e b u rd e n o n l o c a l
residents."
The refrigerated replacement box
on the eActros used by Meyer-
Logistik is the "W.KO COOL" model
supplied by Schmitz Cargobull. It has
optimum insulation for energyefficient
transport of refrigerated
goods.
This robust body is ideally suited
for intensive day-to-day use. The
purely electrically operated cooling
unit functions completely emissionfree
and is specially designed for use
in distribution traffic.
"Electromobility for commercial
vehicles is a highly significant topic
that opens up new opportunities. We
use these with our refrigerated unit,"
said Jörg Irsfeld, Head of IKAM at
Schmitz Cargobull.
The truck of the future
The frame of the Mercedes-Benz
Actros is used as the basis for the
eActros. Otherwise, the vehicle
architecture has been configured
specifically for an electric drive
system, with a high proportion of
specific components.
The drive axle, for example, is
based on the ZF AVE 130 that has
already proved its worth in hybrid
and fuel-cell buses from Mercedes-
Benz, and has now been fundamentally
revised for the eActros.
The drive system comprises two
electric motors located close to the
rear-axle wheel hubs. They have an
output of 126 kW each, together with
a maximum torque of 485 Nm each.
The gearing ratios turn this into 11
0 0 0 N m e a c h , re s u l t i n g i n a
performance that is comparable with
that of a diesel truck.
The maximum permissible axle
load stands at the usual 11.5 tonnes.
The energy comes from lithium-ion
batteries with 240 kWh. Depending
on the available charging capacity,
they can be fully charged within two
to eleven hours (at 150 and 20 kW).