Production starts for key electric truck component

Mercedes-Benz Trucks will begin series production of the eActros 600 electric truck at the end of November, with the first 600 customer vehicles to be manufactured and registered by the end of 2024. In anticipation of this, production has begun on the front box at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Mannheim, Germany, which also serves as the competence center for battery technology and high-voltage systems at Daimler Truck.

The front box houses more than 1,000 individual parts essential for truck operation. (Photo: Daimler Truck)

The front box is a complex technology module that is a central component of the new vehicle, the company stated. It contains several control units, high-voltage components and an electric air compressor, and is positioned in the space previously occupied by the combustion engine.

The front box does not have a specific drive function. Rather, it houses more than 1,000 individual parts essential for truck operation, Mercedes-Benz noted. Accommodating this number of components was achieved via a “layered structure,” in which individual components are built up from the bottom to the top.

“The front box is an assembly-intensive unit for battery-powered vehicles,” said Andreas Moch, plant manager at the Mercedes-Benz Mannheim plant. “After a successful prototype phase, we are now pleased to be able to move into series production. Both the frame preparation and the installation of all individual components and the testing of these units are performed by the Mercedes-Benz Mannheim plant.”

Over a period of about a year, extensive renovation work was carried out to create the front box production line. The new modern production line with a logistics zone offers a high degree of flexibility for different quantities, product variants and subsequent generations, according to the company.

The front box is being built on a new modern production line at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Mannheim. (Photo: Daimler Truck)

“I am very pleased that we have successfully launched the first product, the front box, under the agreement concluded in 2021, and that part of the powertrain for the alternative drives is now located in Mannheim. This is an important step in the transformation of our longstanding engine plant,” said Bruno Buschbacher, chairman of the Works Council of the Mercedes-Benz Mannheim plant. “The vertical range of manufacture of the future must continue to enable us to produce essential components ourselves.

“Looking ahead, it is crucial to continue investing in the future of engine production and also in new products and the training of employees in order to successfully master this transformation – and thus also to have secure and attractive jobs in Mannheim in the long term,” he added.

The Mercedes-Benz plants in Gaggenau and Kassel, Germany, which are part of the production and technology network for electric drive components and battery systems at Daimler Truck, will also supply key components for the eActros 600. The plant in Gaggenau will manufacture transmission components such as shafts and gears as well as housing parts. These will be delivered to the Kassel plant, where the axle and transmission components will be fully assembled.