Start of production for eActros 600 components

At the end of November this year, Daimler Truck will celebrate the series launch of the battery-electric long-haul truck Mercedes-Benz eActros 600 at the Wörth plant. Recently, the new model was awarded the title of International Truck of the Year 2025 at the IAA Transportation in Hanover. By 2024, the first customer vehicles are expected to be manufactured and approved. In each vehicle, central components from the Mercedes-Benz plants in Gaggenau and Kassel will be installed.

Key components come from Gaggenau

The Mercedes-Benz plant in Gaggenau, specialized in heavy commercial vehicle transmissions, is currently evolving into a competence center for electric drive components. Since 2021, essential parts for the e-axle of the eActros 300/400 for distribution transport and the eEconic have been manufactured in Gaggenau. This will also apply to key components of the new generation of e-axles that will power the eActros 600. These are mechanical parts, such as those Gaggenau has been producing for conventional drive systems for many years. From them, a state-of-the-art, novel four-speed axle transmission is created, which consists of around 30 different components in total. This includes specially developed transmission components such as shafts, gears, and synchronization parts as well as housing parts. These components are delivered from Gaggenau to Kassel, where the complete assembly of the axle and transmission components takes place, resulting in the newly developed electrically driven rear axle.

In addition, raw construction components for the driver's cab of the eActros 600 are also manufactured in Gaggenau. The scope includes raw structural parts such as the rear wall, roof frame, front wall, and cross beams as well as various reinforcements. These are common parts that are already used in conventionally powered trucks. Thus, the raw construction expertise of the plant "carries" the outer shell of the newly designed driver's cab of the battery-electric long-haul E-truck.

Specifically Retrofitted Hall

All elements of the electric drive train are subject to high demands for quality, durability, and space. For example, the geometric requirements for the surfaces and roughness of the gears and shafts allow only very tight tolerances. According to Daimler Truck, the required quality is ensured through the latest and highly precise manufacturing technologies, such as specialized gear grinding machines.

The mechanical processing of the housing parts takes place in the Gaggenau plant in a hall specifically retrofitted for this purpose. A completely new manufacturing facility with automated machining centers has been established here. Already during the procurement phase, the processing could be simulated on so-called digital twins through the virtual commissioning of these systems. This process results in enormous time savings compared to a conventional setup process of manufacturing facilities. As part of the mechanical processing, drilling and milling are performed, and threads are cut before the housings subsequently undergo a leak test.

Thomas Twork, site manager of the Mercedes-Benz plant in Gaggenau: “No future without a past! In the Gaggenau plant, tradition and transformation go hand in hand. We are proud to incorporate our decades of experience in the production of high-precision transmission components into the new electric drive train. Together with our colleagues at the assembly site in Kassel, our plant makes an important contribution to emission-free mobility.”

The newly developed e-axle is being created in Kassel

The Mercedes-Benz plant in Kassel, the global competence center for conventional axles and electric drive systems from Daimler Truck, assembles the new generation of the e-axle for the eActros 600. The electrically driven rear axle has been newly designed specifically for long-distance use. It features a number of technical innovations for higher performance and efficiency.

A new assembly line was created in the plant for this purpose, including test and inspection stations for function- and safety-relevant features. As with the e-axle currently used in the eActros 300/400 and eEconic, which is already manufactured in Kassel, the "common parts principle" also applies to the new generation. This means that the basic axle as well as the wheel head and brake components originate from the conventional axle, which the Kassel plant has been manufacturing for decades. These components are flexibly assembled on the assembly line, allowing the plant to switch between conventional and electric axles depending on order volume.

The new generation of the e-axle includes axle bridge and electric drive system, consisting of electric motors as well as the transmission and high-voltage components.

Assembly process of the new e-axle generation in Kassel

The holistic assembly process takes place at the Kassel plant in various coordinated phases. The basis for the new e-axle is the axle bridge, which in the first step is prepared for carrying, rolling, and braking - i.e., wheel hubs, drive shafts, and brake components are assembled here. The axle bridge for the e-axle corresponds to the conventional series, so it can be seamlessly adapted to the existing vehicle chassis.

In the assembly area of the electric drive unit, the pre-assembled gearbox parts, the two electric motors, and other components are installed in the axle carrier housing, which comes from Gaggenau. In the final assembly, the so-called wedding between the previously created electric drive unit and the axle bridge takes place. In addition, various sensors, oil and cooling lines, and low-voltage wiring harnesses are installed without current.

Before the e-axle leaves the Mercedes-Benz plant in Kassel, it undergoes a detailed functional test of the mechanical and electrical components – the so-called end-of-line test (EOL test) – in the last phase. Here, the HV cable assembly, leak testing, and HV tests take place. Finally, the e-axle goes through a simulation of various driving situations including load, topography, and gear selection profiles. After passing the EOL test, it is prepared for transport to the Mercedes-Benz plant in Wörth.