Belgian logistics firm H.Essers is acquiring 20 electric trucks from German brands
The logistics company H.Essers, based in Genk, Belgium, is expanding its electric fleet by 20 electric trucks. MAN and Mercedes-Benz Trucks have delivered ten trucks each. These vehicles will primarily be used at the company’s facilities in Belgium.
Image: H.Essers
H.Essers now has a total of 31 electric trucks in its fleet, including the newly acquired XXL models. The company describes investing in these e-Trucks and expanding the corresponding charging infrastructure and energy supply as part of its sustainability strategy. H.Essers specifically aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from its own transport fleet by 42 percent by 2030. The logistics company plans to achieve this goal through “a combination of operational efficiency, synchronized transportation, use of renewable energy and alternative fuels, as well as the electrification of transport activities.”
According to the company’s official statements from early 2025, H.Essers operates around 1,420 trucks. A specific milestone in the company’s sustainability strategy is to increase electrification to about 15 percent of the fleet by 2030. That would correspond to roughly 200 units.
The decision to purchase an additional 20 electric trucks now is based, according to management, on the experience gained over the past year through a pilot project. “Six electric trucks from three different manufacturers were used in daily operations. These practical experiences provided H.Essers with valuable insights into both the opportunities and challenges of electric transportation in everyday operations,” states a accompanying statement.
According to the company, Mercedes’s electric trucks offer a range of 525 to 575 kilometers, while MAN’s models have a range of 400 to 450 kilometers. Thanks to their DC fast-charging capability, vehicles from both brands can be recharged in about 90 minutes under optimal conditions.
Christopher Van den Daele, COO Transport at H.Essers, summarized: “To make logistics more sustainable, a combination of various solutions is needed. Electric trucks play an important role in this and are becoming a viable option for more applications. We are convinced that electrification is an essential part of logistics in the future.” This expansion enables the use of electric trucks on a larger scale under real operating conditions. “By doing so, we not only gain valuable knowledge and experience but also lay the foundation for further development of electric transportation across our entire European network.”
According to Van den Daele, the investment also marks the start of the next phase of company growth: while H.Essers’ electric fleet is currently used mainly from Belgium and the Netherlands, his company is exploring how to scale up this technology in other countries and business areas. Insights gained from ongoing operations are set to play a key role in this process.
In addition to the electric fleet, charging infrastructure is also expanding in the short term: at its facilities in Genk and Bergen op Zoom, H.Essers is increasing the installed charging capacity to 2.7 MW. The logistics company is also investing in electrifying warehouse trucks and cars, as well as in heating and cooling systems for offices and warehouses.
Van den Daele comments, “To intelligently manage the growing energy demands at our various locations, we introduced ‘Synchro Grid’ — an enterprise-wide energy ecosystem that coordinates energy generation, consumption, and storage. Our goal is to gradually transform our locations into flexible energy hubs, thereby supporting further electrification of our operations. At the same time, this helps us meet our customers’ increasing demand for more sustainable transportation solutions. In this way, we work together to create a more sustainable logistics chain.”