Amazon deploys 50 Mercedes eActros electric trucks in Germany — SkimNews
Get the Energy newsletter
Daily energy & climate — solar, EVs, oil, the policy fights and tech bets shaping the transition. Free.
- Amazon will deploy 50 Mercedes-Benz eActros electric semi trucks in Germany by end of 2026, with 26 of the vehicles — part of an order for more than 200 eActros 600s — already on the road
- eActros 600 trucks carry 621 kWh battery packs with a 500 km range and deliver 1.61 kWh/mile efficiency at 36 metric tons combined vehicle weight on routes between fulfillment centers and urban areas
- Amazon is installing hundreds of DC fast chargers across the region capable of charging the trucks' batteries from 20% to 80% in just over an hour to integrate the fleet
- Amazon is investing more than 1 billion euros in European transportation electrification, including over 400 million euros for Germany, where a Frontier Economics analysis estimates the spending has supported more than 35,000 jobs and contributed up to 3 billion euros to the economy
- Andreas Marschner, Amazon's VP of Sustainable Operations, called the truck handover a "milestone for the electrification of our transportation network," while Mercedes-Benz Trucks' Stina Fagerman said Amazon's reliance on the vehicles "shows that the electrification of heavy-duty transport is increasingly becoming reality"
- eActros 600 specs are described in the source as rivaling "the theoretical efficiency claims of the Tesla Semi — except in the real world. And in winter," flagging skepticism about real-world performance of heavy-duty electric trucks
Why it matters: Amazon's 1 billion-euro European electrification push — with 400 million euros earmarked for Germany — converts its sustainability pledges into concrete fleet and charging infrastructure orders, and the eActros 600's 500 km range gives Mercedes-Benz a real-world benchmark against the Tesla Semi in the long-haul electric trucking race.
Ask SkimNews
