Spedition Pflaum is deploying 30 new eActros 600 trucks.
Pflaum Transport is significantly expanding the share of battery-electric vehicles in its truck fleet. The company has acquired 30 Mercedes-Benz eActros 600 trucks and plans to integrate them into its routes gradually. By 2030, three-quarters of its fleet is expected to use alternative drives and fuels.
The 30 electric trucks were delivered to the transport company in mid-July at the Daimler Truck plant in Wörth am Rhein. According to Pflaum, this is one of the company’s largest investments to date. The vehicles are set to be put into use gradually.
To date, battery-powered trucks play only a minor role in the fleet of this mid-sized company based in Strullendorf near Bamberg: Around 60 percent of the fleet is already operated using alternative fuels, according to Pflaum. These mainly include HVO100, bio-LNG, and bio-CNG. Battery-electric vehicles accounted for only about one percent before the current purchases. By 2030, the company aims to operate three-quarters of its fleet “emission-free,” according to its own statements. However, HVO and the aforementioned biofuels are not emission-free locally, unlike battery-electric vehicles.
The introduction of these 30 electric trucks gives significant momentum to the electrification effort. The 1,000th truck in the company’s fleet is also an eActros 600, and its pink paint job sets it apart visually from the rest. This long-haul model features three battery packs with a combined installed capacity of over 600 kWh. Mercedes-Benz Trucks claims a range of 500 kilometers without recharging, while Pflaum states it can reach up to 550 kilometers. The vehicles are intended to be charged almost entirely using renewable energy. The eActros 600 is not affected by the battery issues encountered in older models: The recall announced at the end of July by Daimler Truck included older eActros 300 and 400 models equipped with AGM batteries, manufactured up to October 2025.
Electric trucks must fit into route planning
Pflaum is moving beyond a small pilot program with 30 new electric trucks. This makes range, charging times, and available charging infrastructure even more important for route planning. The company has not yet disclosed which routes the new vehicles will specifically cover or what the required infrastructure will look like. Nor does Pflaum mention the investment amount or the size of the entire fleet. As a result, it is impossible to quantify how much the electric vehicle proportion will increase due to these 30 vehicles.
In addition to emission reduction, Pflaum highlights the driving comfort. This can also help alleviate reservations among drivers. “Once someone has driven an electric vehicle,” says Matthias Schellenberger from Pflaum, “they rarely want to go back to internal combustion engines.”