Mercedes Delivers First eActros 600 Electric Truck to Chile

Mercedes-Benz Trucks has crossed a significant threshold by delivering its first eActros 600 electric vehicle to Chile, marking the arrival of the premium heavy-duty truck in South America. The transport company Empresas Cavalieri becomes the first Chilean customer for this electric truck boasting a 500-kilometre range. Six additional units will follow in the coming weeks for other Chilean clients.

"Chile ranks among the regions most severely affected by climate change and has ambitious climate protection goals and programs" — Mercedes-Benz Trucks

A Strategic First Deployment

Empresas Cavalieri will deploy this inaugural eActros 600 transporting beverages along the Santiago-Viña del Mar route in the Valparaíso region. A shrewd routing choice: with its 500-kilometre range, the truck can complete the journey without intermediate charging, simply returning to the depot for recharging.

Behind this delivery lurks a major player: Compañía de Cervecerías Unidas (CCU), one of South America's largest beverage producers. It was CCU who orchestrated this partnership with Cavalieri, its regular logistics provider.

Why Chile First?

Mercedes selected Chile as its South American bridgehead for the eActros 600, and this is no accident. The country faces the full force of climate change and has committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. An ambitious objective that pressures local enterprises to electrify their fleets.

Chile's other advantage lies in its energy potential. Solar and wind already represent a substantial portion of the national energy mix. For trucks with substantial consumption, access to clean and affordable electricity fundamentally shifts the economics.

Complex Logistics from Germany

These Chilean eActros 600 units roll off the Mercedes factory in Wörth, Germany since late November 2024. Quite a journey to reach South America! The model already operates in over 15 European countries, but Chile marks its first expansion beyond Europe.

Local distributor Kaufmann S.A. already commercializes the first-generation eActros 300/400 on the Chilean market. The arrival of the 600 completes the Mercedes electric lineup with its premium offering.

What Comes Next for South American Expansion?

Mercedes has not yet detailed its plans for other regional markets, but this initial Chilean deployment functions as a full-scale test. Should the experience with Cavalieri and the six additional clients that will follow prove conclusive, other South American markets could rapidly follow.

Beverage transport offers an ideal use case for validating the electric truck: regular routes, predictable loads, frequent depot returns. Perfect terrain for validating the eActros 600's profitability before tackling more complex segments.

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