As one of the first enterprises worldwide, Contargo took delivery of 20 of the first serially produced battery-driven electric Mercedes-Benz eActros 600 from Mercedes-Benz Trucks on 20 December 2024. The vehicles will go into operation straight away at various locations of the container hinterland logistics network for container transport between port and customer.
The eActros 600 has a battery capacity of 600 kilowatt hours and an efficient electric drive axle. This gives the trucks a range of approximately 500 kilometres – without the need for “topping up”. With this range Contargo can use the eActros 600 as flexibly as diesel trucks – including long-distance runs.
With the new eActros 600, Contargo’s fleet of e-trucks now numbers 60 vehicles. By the summer of 2025 the count will have risen to 90.
Contargo has been testing the eActros 600 in real operation since April. The vehicle has been used, among other things, for a two-shift shuttle service between the inland port of Wörth am Rhein and various loading and unloading points.
The delivery of the first eActros 600 trucks marks a turning-point in the logistics sector. With this premiere, Contargo demonstrates that sustainable heavy-duty transport is possible today – and points the way for the future of container transport.
The 20 eActros 600 trucks were subsidised by the German Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV), under the funding guideline for the purchase of commercial vehicles with alternative climate-friendly drivetrains and the deployment of refuelling and charging infrastructure (KsNI). Support is being given altogether for 86 e-trucks and the corresponding charging infrastructure. The funding guideline is coordinated by the NOW GmbH, and the applications were approved by the Federal Logistics and Mobility Office (BALM).