Dachser Completes Emission-Free Urban Delivery Plan in Stuttgart

Major 3PL Dachser says its vehicle mix for emission-free deliveries in Stuttgart city centre is now complete with the delivery of all-electric 18-ton Mercedes-Benz eActros.

As soon as employees have been briefed and completed all the requisite training, Dachser will integrate the eActros into its ongoing test operations in Stuttgart. As with the all-electric 7.5-ton FUSO eCanter, the truck will be used in professional driver training. “We’ll be using the eActros for transporting deliveries both directly to customers and to the microhub in the Heslach district of Stuttgart. From there, pedelecs are used for the last mile,” explains Markus Maurer, General Manager of Dachser’s Kornwestheim branch.

The eActros has a payload of 4 to 5 metric tons, depending on the design, and offers space for 18 pallets. With a range of 200 km, it is ideal for daily delivery transports in and around Stuttgart city centre. Its 240 kWh lithium-ion batteries charge in 2 hours at 150 kW. According to the Mercedes-Benz Trucks division, the prototype is set to go into large-scale production in 2021.

In conducting these test operations, Dachser is gathering the data and experience it needs to determine the right vehicle mix for sustainable deliveries of groupage shipments to city centers. In addition to Stuttgart, tests are also underway in Berlin, Freiburg, Karlsruhe, Cologne, Málaga, Mannheim, Paris, Tübingen, and Ulm.

“We’re not looking to take a one-size-fits-all approach; instead, we want to come up with a range of solutions, each of them focused on optimizing deliveries, routes, and times,” says Stefan Hohm, Corporate Director, Corporate Solutions, Research & Development at Dachser. Holm heads the City Distribution innovation project.