50 Years of ITOY – 2025 Mercedes-Benz eActros 600

Mercedes-Benz had achieved third place in the 2022 IToY, and second place in the 2024 competition with earlier versions of the eActros electric truck, but in October 2023, the company announced its game-changing eActros 600, with series production to commence alongside diesel-powered vehicles at Wörth in late 2024.

The eActros 600 was developed from the outset as an electric truck, rather than as an adapted diesel vehicle, and featured the new ProCabin cab design and a significantly increased battery capacity and range. The new cab has since become very familiar on the Actros L, where its aerodynamic properties have provided some very impressive fuel consumption figures.

The ProCabin features an 80mm rounded front extension, an elongated bumper with under-body panelling, A-pillar deflector trims and highly sealed surfaces to achieve a 9% reduction in the drag coefficient over the previous Actros cab. With electric trucks, reducing air resistance not only reduces energy consumption but also means that more energy can be recuperated and range extended.

Mercedes’ engineers opted for a newly developed 800-volt 13-tonne electric axle with twin motors and a 4-speed transmission for the new truck. The motors could generate 600kW at peak power, or 400kW of continuous output. With no propshaft, the e-axle freed up space for the batteries, and three 207kWh lithium-ion phosphate (LFP) batteries were installed between the chassis rails, this being regarded as the safest location. The LFP batteries were chosen for their long life-expectancy, with a design life of up to 1.2 million km over 10 years claimed, after which they should retain 80% of function.

LFP batteries also permit 95% of the total installed capacity of 621kWh to be used, giving the eActros its “600” name and affording a 500km range without intermediate charging. Intermediate charging through a combined charging system during statutory breaks would increase the range to over 1,000km per day, and the eActros was engineered to be compatible with the retro-fitting of mega-watt charging capability.

The Multimedia Cockpit Interactive 2 continuously informs the driver about energy consumption, charge level and range, and the Predictive Powertrain Control is especially programmed for the electric drivetrain to consider topography, road and driving conditions to maximise the charge.

There are three driving/performance modes with the truck, being the standard Economy mode with 85% of power available, the Range mode for 70% power, or the Power mode for 100%. With five different recuperation levels, single-pedal driving can be selected from the cockpit touchscreen to use recuperation for deacceleration and minimise foundation brake use.

Like Volvo the year before, Mercedes was realistic regarding the operational, legislative, total-cost of ownership, infrastructure and client requirements which can make the case for electric operation, and an eConsultancy Service was available to operators to assist with the transition.

The IToY jury were suitably convinced of the eActros 600’s merits by their criteria of the most significant contribution to road transport efficiency through technological innovation, comfort, safety, driveability, energy efficiency, environmental footprint, and total cost of ownership. After extended driving trials the Mercedes won with 88 points, with Volvo’s FH Aero in second position, and the Iveco S-eWay in third.