I much prefer the Tesla way - a truck that was released 1 year ago (!), and still, nobody knows it's weight, range nor price.
Jokes aside, it looks very good ! Is there somewhere a real-life comparison between all those trucks ? (not like the one that was recently posted - which included detailed, by the minute data about battery / distance travelled but ... not weight the truck was carrying)
Stuttgart to Bolzano via the Brenner pass (1370m) and back. It charged just once in Bolzano. All this with a full load of 40 tonnes. I've driven that mountain pass. It's a major traffic route through the alps with some pretty steep segments.
So, based on that, it seems that it is doing quite nicely. If it can handle that, everything else is a piece of cake. About the same range as the smaller specced Tesla semi (the 300 mile one). All they'd need to do to increase the range is add more battery, I guess. I don't think that's particularly hard technically. But it does affect the cost/performance obviously.
In Europe, drivers need to stop and take breaks more frequently than in the US. So, 300 miles is plenty. And with fast charging infrastructure, the truck can be ready to go before the driver is legally allowed to get back behind the wheel.
What about a traffic jam where the trucks are stuck for hours on the pass? How long can they keep it up and what happens when the batteries run out?
I am aware that in the same situation you could also run out of fuel but it seems more unlikely to me. Also in the worst case you could haul fuel to the trucks.
Going downhill, electrical trucks actually regenerate energy. 40 tonnes is a lot of potential energy. So, if you do get stuck in the mountains with a nearly empty battery yelling at you long before it dies, turning around is a valid option.
Finally, this is a bit of road that is very challenging for ICE trucks. There's a slow lane, escape lanes, etc. Trucks breaking down, catching fire, etc. is a very regular event. They are well prepared for it. Thanks to decades of ICE trucks breaking down on this route.
And of course mobile chargers are a thing in emergencies or just when a lot of power is needed somewhere. Just put a container of batteries on a truck and you have a nice mobile charger. That's already quite popular for installing temporary charging infrastructure at events.
I don't see any advantage to having a diesel truck in such situations.
The ICE aside from all the inefficiencies of the engine, needs to run constantly and then gain enough revs to begin moving, where as the electric truck suffers from none of this, you put your foot down and the electrons flow, are used almost precisely.
Then if there is a downhill on this road, the EV can likely use regenerative breaking to gain some energy back. Pretty awesome.
I'd love to see some numbers though -- this is all surmise.
edit: information on the new one can be found in the press release [0]:
- 600 kWh LFP battery
- 500 km range
- 400 kW CCS charging
- later: megawatt charging, 20 to 80 % in 30 minutes
[0]: https://media.daimlertruck.com/marsMediaSite/en/instance/ko/...