Mercedes-Benz Trucks continues with practical trials of the battery-powered Mercedes-Benz eActros. For the first time a Belgian logistics company Van Mieghem Logistics starts operating the all-electric eActros. The family-owned company, which specialises in both international transport and national distribution services, is testing the eActros on daily distribution journeys of up to 200km in the vicinity of the company‘s headquarters in Saintes, Belgium.

The Mercedes-Benz eActros will be initially used for delivering pharmaceutical goods to hospitals and nursing homes. Additional tasks are planned to follow soon. The 25-ton truck with a range of about 200 kilometres is equipped with a Schmitz Cargobull refrigerated swap body, which is also electrically operated and therefore emission-free. The batteries of the truck are charged overnight at the company‘s warehouse.

“The eActros has seen intensive customer tests in Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands since 2018,” says Mercedes-Benz Trucks Belgium and Luxembourg CEO Peter Brock.  “We are proud to now have the first all-electric eActros in Belgium to be tested with Van Mieghem Logistics, an esteemed logistics company in the country.”

Laurent Van Mieghem, member of the management at Van Mieghem Logistics, says the protection of natural resources was an integral element of their corporate activities.

“That‘s why we invested in solar panels on top of our new warehouse and are also investigating the installation of wind turbines on our company premises, which would be ideal for harvesting our own energy to power electric trucks and logistics warehouses in future. Our interest in CNG or LNG powered trucks has always been very moderate, as they still use fossil fuels. An all-electric truck however has always been on our minds and as a logistics company with a 90% Mercedes-Benz fleet, it was only obvious that we were very eager to participate in the Mercedes-Benz eActros tests. This is for our company the way to go to realise a CO2-neutral transport solution that meets our corporate values of sustainability and puts us in the driver seat when it comes to modern and environment-friendly technology.”

The swap body of the eActros used by Van Mieghem Logistics is the W.KO COOL model from Schmitz Cargobull. It has optimised insulation for the energy-efficient transport of refrigerated goods. Its robust construction is ideal for intensive daily use. The purely electrically powered refrigeration unit operates completely emission-free and is specially designed for use in distribution transport. Schmitz Cargobull will largely provide the vehicle bodies also in the second test phase.

“Schmitz Cargobull is actively driving the development of more environmental-friendly and sustainable transport concepts,” says Schmitz Cargobull board member Boris Billich. “The emission-free refrigerated swap body W.KO COOL is successful proof of these efforts. We are glad and honoured that Van Mieghem Logistics is using it together with the eActros.”