OTTO’S electrifies entire truck fleet with the Mercedes-Benz eActros 600
Swiss retailer OTTO’S is converting its entire truck fleet to electric drive. The 22 all-electric Mercedes-Benz eActros 600 trucks will supply the company’s 140+ branches in Switzerland with goods, supplied with solar energy from the company's own rooftops.
Image: Lanz+Marti
The bodywork for the 22 electric trucks was supplied by Swiss vehicle manufacturer Lanz + Marti. The company announced on LinkedIn that it had built a complete series of 22 vehicles based on the Mercedes-Benz eActros 600 for OTTO’S. The order also included two-axle trailers with plywood box bodies, enabling the eActros vehicles to operate as road trains.
OTTO’S states that, thanks to the eActros 600’s range of up to 500 kilometres, it can cover most routes without intermediate charging stops. “Around 80 per cent of all daily transport routes fall within this distance,” explains OTTO’S CEO Mark Ineichen. The eActros 600 vehicles reportedly complete two to four tours daily and regularly return to the company’s headquarters in Sursee, in the canton of Lucerne, where they can be charged and prepared for their next deployment.
Charging infrastructure powered by in-house solar energy
For the electrification of its fleet, OTTO’S is also relying on its own energy supply. The majority of the required electricity will come from the photovoltaic system at its headquarters. The company also plans to feed solar power from its branch locations into its in-house grid and use it to operate the charging infrastructure.
With this transition, OTTO’S is combining the electrification of goods transport with the expansion of renewable energy use. The company’s announcement did not include details on the installed charging capacities, investment costs, or the specific timeline for the full commissioning of the 22 vehicles.
“With the full electrification of our truck fleet, we are reaching an important milestone in the development of our logistics,” says Ineichen. At the same time, the transition is intended to ensure that branches can continue to be supplied with goods efficiently and reliably in the future.
eActros 600 for long-haul transport
The Mercedes-Benz eActros 600, which has been in series production since November 2024, is designed for heavy long-haul transport. Its three battery packs with lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cells have a combined capacity of 621 kWh. The manufacturer specifies a range of around 500 kilometres without intermediate charging. The actual range depends, among other factors, on load, route profile, and driving style.
Charging is standard via CCS at up to 400 kW. This makes it fundamentally possible to integrate recharging into operational processes where vehicles return to the depot between tours or during longer downtimes. For OTTO’S, the combination of range and regular returns to Sursee is particularly relevant: according to the company, four out of five daily tours fall within the vehicle’s range.
By adding the 22 eActros 600 units to its fleet, OTTO’S is implementing electrification not just selectively but for its entire truck fleet. The deployment also demonstrates how battery-electric heavy-duty commercial vehicles can be used in branch logistics when a large proportion of tours fall within the available range and vehicles regularly return to a central depot.