All-electric Mercedes-Benz eEconic truck production begins

The Mercedes-Benz eEconic, Daimler Truck's second all-electric truck type, has begun series production. It is the second electric vehicle built at the Worth facility in Germany.

Electric trucks are manufactured alongside diesel counterparts on the current Mercedes-Benz Special Trucks production plant. The eEconic continues in the Future Truck Center, where the electric drive components are added, after the vehicle has been largely built including batteries and other high-voltage components. 

Intended for urban municipal uses, the Mercedes-Benz eEconic is built on the same platform as the Mercedes-Benz eActros, which will go into production in October 2021. Both models are manufactured in Germany at the Wörth facility.

On top of that, the eEconic trash collection vehicle is expected to cover the great majority of conventional garbage collection routes in a single shift without the use of intermediaries.

The Mercedes-Benz eEconic e300 variant has three battery packs with a combined capacity of 336 kWh. 

More than that, the garbage collecting application's range is predicted to be 100-150 kilometres (62-93 miles) although charging power is 160 kW at peak which takes roughly 75 minutes to charge from 20 percent to 80 percent. 

Customers in Europe have been able to test the vehicles in real-world trials since May.

Mercedes-Benz Trucks plans to produce a 40-ton semi-truck with a range of roughly 500 kilometres by 2024. Dubbed the eActross LangHaul, the first prototypes are currently being tested internally and will be tested on public roads this year.

The first series-produced eEconic will be handed over to Urbaser A/S, a waste disposal firm in Denmark.

It provides optimism that roads will eventually become quieter and cleaner, but this might be a lengthy process requiring significant investment in production capacity and charging infrastructure.