Netto Marken‑Discount tests the eActros in heavy‑duty distribution haulage in the food logistics industry. Series production of the truck starts this year.

Thomas Duggen puts on his jacket and enters the Netto logistics centre in Henstedt-Ulzburg close to Hamburg. He is welcomed by a fresh breeze: low temperatures are maintained to protect the foodstuffs stored here. The pallets for the next tour are already waiting in the warehouse. They will be delivered with an eActros. “That is a test vehicle that we are using in heavy‑duty distribution haulage,” says the fleet manager of the Netto logistics centre in Henstedt-Ulzburg and greets driver Anna Liszka at the ramp. Liszka is one of four test drivers from Duggen’s team. She puts on her gloves and starts loading with a hand-operated forklift.

On average Anna Liszka delivers goods to around twelve Netto supermarkets every week. That is a distance of about 800 kilometres through north Germany. “Every day is different,” she says and points at her delivery schedule. Here she can see which delivery and truck has been assigned to her.

The supermarket’s logistics division operates around the clock. “The eActros is in operation almost 24 hours a day,” says Duggen, who schedules up to four tours a day for the battery-electric truck.

Anna Liszka, who will be driving the eActros throughout her shift today, has now loaded the last pallet into the refrigerated swap body and is busy securing the freight. At the same time, the truck has been connected to the charging station for the battery. Here, at the Netto logistics centre in Henstedt-Ulzburg, this supplies a charging capacity of up to 80 Kilowatts. A green light-emitting diode pulses slowly. “We always use the breaks and loading phases to charge the battery,” the driver explains. She doesn’t disconnect the truck from the charging station until just before she sets off on her tour. That way the eActros operates with the greatest possible efficiency. 

Anna Liszka presents another characteristic of the truck on the acceleration lane of the A7 motorway towards Hamburg. She glances in the left‑hand outside mirror, depresses the accelerator slightly and in seconds the speedometer pointer moves to the 80 mark and she merges into the adjacent lane. “The full torque from the electric motors is available whatever the speed,” says our driver who obviously loves the truck’s power.

The stretch on the motorway is short. After 20 kilometres Liszka takes the exit for the supermarket in north Hamburg. The truck makes quick progress in the urban traffic. It is surprisingly fast when pulling away. Now the driver carefully lets the eActros roll across the store’s car park towards the unloading ramp.

She has a quick chat with a colleague, unloads and then sets off to the next Netto store – in the direction of the city centre. “Let’s see what awaits me there,” she smiles, while taking off her work gloves. “As I said, every day is different.”