Scania: a new 624 kWh battery electric truck

Alongside its work on hydrogen, Scania continues to make progress in the electric truck sector.

There is a lot of talk about the Semi by Elon Musk, but Tesla is not the only company working on electric trucks. Manufacturers specialized in heavy vehicles have made significant advances recently, choosing perhaps more pragmatic approaches but far from uninteresting. This is notably the case of Scania, which is about to launch a new generation of electric trucks.

Designed to handle deliveries at a regional scale, the new electric Scania trucks can carry up to 624 kWh of batteries. This is obviously an impressive figure, at least for those coming from the automotive world. For comparison, the maximum battery capacity in the automotive sector is currently around 100 kWh. Most models use less. For example, a Renault Mégane e-Tech has a 60 kWh battery.

300 km of range in one hour thanks to fast charging

The new range of Scania electric trucks consists of cab and semi-trailer tractor units. The range naturally varies depending on the size and configuration selected. On a 4×2 tractor with six batteries, it can reach approximately 350 km at an average speed of 80 km/h on the highway. Charging power can reach 375 kW, allowing for 270 to 300 km of range to be recovered in one hour. Without going into details, Scania states that the engine delivers a continuous power of 410 kW on certain versions, roughly equivalent to 560 hp. The maximum permissible gross vehicle weight can reach 64 tons.

Launch in 2023

Scania will start producing its new electric trucks in the fourth quarter of 2023. The brand mentions a “cost comparable to diesel trucks”, without explaining how this conclusion was reached. Since the purchase price of an electric truck remains high to date, it is likely that operating costs were taken into account. The ecological bonus can also impact the final price, since it can amount to several tens of thousands of euros for electric trucks.

Read also: New developments for Zero, Volta’s electric truck