ROME – The spread of electrification is also increasing in the heavy transport sector, a sector where vehicles must guarantee the same performance as combustion engine vehicles, even in the most extreme conditions. The vehicles have to do their job reliably in adverse weather conditions such as cold, ice and snow, which is why Mercedes-Benz trucks were subjected to endurance tests in stormy winds and temperatures down to minus 25 degrees in Rovaniemi, Finland. Vehicles from different series were subjected to various tests, including the battery-electric prototypes of the eActros LongHaul and the eActros 300 as a tractor unit.
“Testing our product range under extreme winter conditions is an essential part of the development of our vehicles, even when it comes to alternative drive systems – explains Christof Weber, Head of Global Testing Mercedes-Benz Trucks – because you have to move in a highly competitive sector Transport companies can rely on our electric trucks at any time of the year, just as they are used to from conventionally powered vehicles. For this reason, our test engineers in Finland put the vehicles through their paces over a period of six weeks.”
When driving the eActros LongHaul and the eActros 300, the engineers from Stern paid particular attention to the behavior of the batteries and the electric drive train. The startup behavior and cold protection of the drive components, software and interfaces were tested. In addition, thermal management and energy management were tested intensively.
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In addition, all vehicle functions and systems were tested in real use, as well as, for example, the influence of slush on the effectiveness of sensors in driver assistance systems. The eActros 300 electric truck has a range of up to 220 km and is scheduled to go into series production in the second half of 2023, while the eActros LongHaul for long-distance transport will have a range of around 500 km and high-performance charging from 2024. (Maurilio Rigo)
