Daimler's Meredes-Benz will not be building the new eActros electric truck entirely on the same assembly line as ICE models, starting in 2021.
The basic vehicle structure will be built on one line but installation of various "non-conventional drive components" will take place in a separate process, as will assembly of the electric powertrain. That has required setting up a new assembly line on which the construction of all the electrical architecture, in particular the high-voltage components, will take place, as well as initial operation. Subsequently, the vehicles will be fed back into the regular production process for finishing and final inspection.
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The eActros has been on trial for two years with customers. Those vehicles were built in a collaborative effort between the Woeth, Mannheim and Stuttgart sites.
The series-production eActros will, Daimler promised, "be significantly superior to the existing prototype in a variety of areas, such as range, drive power and safety". Payload will also be on par with the ICE models. The eActros will be launch as two-axle and three-axle models.
From 2022, the eEconic will also roll off the production line at Woeth. This model is ideally suited as a refuse collection and disposal vehicle for municipal use, in urban traffic. This usage lends itself very well to battery-electric vehicles due to the relatively short and strictly scheduled routes of around 100km.
