Mercedes-Benz Truck Celebrates Series Start of the eActros 600

The electrification of the product range at Daimler Truck is progressing: The company today celebrated the series start of the Mercedes-Benz eActros 600 for long-distance transport at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Wörth. The launch took place in the presence of Karin Rådström, CEO of Daimler Truck, and Daniela Schmitt, Minister of Economy, Transport, Agriculture, and Viticulture of the State of Rhineland-Palatinate, as well as Jürgen Distl, Head of Mercedes-Benz Trucks Operations, Andreas Bachhofer, Head of the Wörth site and Production of Mercedes-Benz Trucks, and Michael Brecht, Chairman of the General Works Council of Daimler Truck.

(Wörth am Rhein) Karin Rådström, CEO of Daimler Truck: “The start of series production of our eActros 600 is further proof of our ambition to change the industry. With a range of 500 kilometers on a single battery charge, our eActros 600 targets the long-distance segment in Europe, which is responsible for two-thirds of CO2 emissions in heavy road freight transport. Our battery-electric long-distance truck will therefore make a real difference.”

Daniela Schmitt, Minister of Economy, Transport, Agriculture, and Viticulture of the State of Rhineland-Palatinate: “With the series production of the eActros 600, Daimler Truck once again demonstrates that CO2-neutral freight transport is already a reality today. Here in Wörth, a vehicle will soon roll off the production line that positions itself at the forefront of technological development. For the second time within a week, a strong signal for the commercial vehicle industry is coming from this location. Together, we want to ensure that international competitiveness and industrial value creation in Rhineland-Palatinate are maintained in the future.”

Jürgen Distl, Head of Mercedes-Benz Trucks Operations: “As the lead plant in the production network of Mercedes-Benz Trucks, the Wörth site plays a central role, especially regarding the integration of battery-electric models like the eActros 600. However, we are addressing the transformation at all levels of our production network – also in the area of CO2-neutral manufacturing and our own supply chain: Already today, we are supplied by electric trucks, and the complete electrification of the delivery traffic to the Wörth plant is to be completed by the end of 2026 – with the eActros 600 playing a crucial role in this.”

Andreas Bachhofer, Head of the Wörth site and Production of Mercedes-Benz Trucks: “With the series start of the eActros 600, we are expanding our Wörth product portfolio with an important vehicle for the future. As the first battery-electric truck made in Wörth, its assembly will be fully integrated into the existing assembly hall, flexibly alongside the production of combustion engine trucks. This positions us excellently for the production of larger quantities. Our production team is well prepared for the gradual ramp-up in the coming months.”

Thomas Zwick, Chairman of the Works Council in Wörth: “The eActros 600 is another step in the implementation of the future agreement that we, the works council, made with the plant management in 2021. The fundamental decision to build all trucks, regardless of the drive type, here in Wörth secures jobs at the site and in the region. Moreover, emission-free trucks with electric or fuel cell drives create future-proof and attractive jobs with new tasks.”

Manufacturing on Existing Assembly Lines

The eActros 600 will be manufactured on the existing assembly line of the Wörth A-series production, parallel and flexibly alongside trucks that will have a diesel drive. In this production hall, it will also receive all electrical components. At the end of the line, the entire system will be commissioned: From then on, the truck will be ready to drive and will undergo the finishing process and final acceptance like all other trucks.

Thus, the eActros 600 is the first electric truck from Wörth, whose complete assembly takes place in a production hall. The conversion of the assembly lines and the integration of the eActros 600 into the line production have been carried out step by step. The previous electric truck models eActros 300/400 and eEconic leave the production hall for the assembly of the electric drive components to be electrified at the Wörth Future Truck Center.

The Daimler Truck plants in Mannheim, Kassel, and Gaggenau also play an important role in the production of the eActros 600. They supply the components necessary for the battery-electric drive, such as the e-axle, transmission components, and the front box, which bundles numerous high-voltage and low-voltage components and is located in the former space of the combustion engine.

Michael Brecht, Chairman of the General Works Council of Daimler Truck: “We from the General Works Council will ensure that even in times of savings and tight budgets, the future agreements in Wörth and at the other locations are implemented. If we want to remain competitive, we need a high degree of in-house production at the sites. Not only the shareholders but also the employees must emerge as winners from the transformation.”

About 3,300 Trainings for Employees

Daimler Truck is in the midst of the transformation towards emission-free transport. This can only be mastered with very well-trained employees. Therefore, the company is doing everything it can to further develop the know-how within the group: Through the qualification of employees and targeted recruiting of new talents, for example, in the area of electrified powertrains. Because the production processes for vehicles with alternative drives present special requirements for the workforce.

The goal of the site-specific training and further education center in Wörth is to prepare the workforce for the tasks on the new vehicles. In 2023 alone, around 3,300 trainings for employees in the new technologies of battery, high voltage, and hydrogen were conducted at the Wörth site. The Wörth training center thus plays an important role in the transformation, as the skills in handling high-voltage vehicles and components are an indispensable prerequisite for the assembly of electrically powered trucks.

On the Way to a CO2-Neutral Factory

Daimler Truck is committed to sustainability in the development of new vehicles like the eActros 600, but also in the production of these vehicles. The Mercedes-Benz plant in Wörth is working intensively to achieve climate-friendly production at the site: Since 2022, the plant has been producing CO2-neutral on a balance sheet basis, among other things, through the procurement of CO2-free electricity from solar, wind, and hydropower, as well as through the procurement of compensation certificates. In addition to purchasing green electricity, the site is also advancing the self-generation of energy for production, for example, through the use of photovoltaic systems. In 2023, Daimler Truck, together with EnBW and the city of Wörth am Rhein, founded the joint venture “WärmeWerk Wörth,” which aims to explore the possibilities of a climate-neutral energy supply for the Wörth plant and the city of Wörth am Rhein through geothermal energy.

Another Building Block for the Future of the Wörth am Rhein Plant

With the series start of the Mercedes-Benz eActros 600, the company is implementing another building block of the agreed future package for the Wörth site: Management and the works council had agreed in the summer of 2021 on the orientation of the plant as a center for the transport of the future in the Mercedes-Benz Trucks production network. The future package includes the sustainable series production of battery-electric and hydrogen fuel cell trucks at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Wörth, the further development and qualification of the workforce within this transformation, and CO2-neutral production.

Photo: © Mercedes Truck