DPD has announced that it will run a long-term trial of the all-electric Mercedes-Benz eActros 300 lowliner. The truck will be deployed on a customer route to understand its real-world capabilities, including range, payload and charging performance.
The low coupling height will enable DPD to assess the vehicle in a realistic configuration when pulling the company’s double-deck trailers. DPD has operated such trailers for many years, as their increased capacity reduces the number of vehicles on the road, thus lowering emissions.
The eActros will be based at DPD’s Hub 4 and 5 in Hinckley. After driver training, route and range testing, it will be assigned to a DPD customer route.
Tim Jones, director of marketing, communications and sustainability at DPD Group UK, said this will be the company’s first long-term trial of an eHGV. “Our objective is to make this as realistic as possible, therefore the load and the route will be typical of our overnight operation. This will give us valuable insight into how we can maximize our current charging infrastructure within our transport department’s operation, as well as how changing seasons from autumn through to spring affect the vehicle’s performance,” he commented.
The eActros 300 is equipped with three battery packs that have a total capacity of 336kWh, enabling a range of up to 220km on a single battery charge, DPD reports.
A key element of the trial will be charging the eActros using DPD’s existing infrastructure of 50kW chargers – primarily used by delivery vans – during the day, when there will be sufficient downtime for the truck to charge using this infrastructure.
“We have worked with Mercedes-Benz for many years, and they provided the 300 specifically for this trial, as it matches our core requirement range for the majority of our customer and depot routes. While we will need eHGVs with a much longer range, this will give us a very real test for both the vehicle and our charging network,” Jones explained.
DPD’s HGV fleet of 1,600 HGVs is predominantly fueled by HVO (hydrogenated vegetable oil), which reportedly reduces engine emissions by 83% compared with diesel.
As part of Geopost, DPD UK has a 2040 net zero target, which is validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). DPD UK has confirmed that the UK operation is on track with the trajectory required to meet the group target, having delivered a 47.5% reduction in overall emissions by the end of 2024, compared with the 2020 benchmark.
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