Today, the EDEKA network and Mercedes-Benz Trucks are launching a pioneering practical test: for a whole year, EDEKA will be testing a fully electric eActros truck in Berlin's wider city area. The 25-tonner -with a cooling system- will supply EDEKA supermarkets with fresh food throughout Berlin. During the symbolic handover of the truck today at Berlin-Schöneberg, Rita Schwarzelühr-Sutter, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, emphasized the significance of this project.
EDEKA is one of the first companies to integrate Mercedes-Benz's heavy-duty electric truck into its fleet and is the only company in the retail industry as of yet. The objective is to have a heavy-duty, standard production truck available from 2021 onwards, that will enable emission-free, quiet transport within the city limit. The test run with this eActros truck will last for about two years. The development and testing of logistic traffic is being funded in various parts by the Federal Environment Ministry (BMU) and the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) as part of the "Concept ELV²" project.
With around 3,500 vehicles, EDEKA has one of the largest truck fleets in the trade. The company is setting the standards not only in ecological terms, but also in terms of traffic safety. In 2015, for example, EDEKA pioneered and developed a practicable solution for a turn-off assistance system. Currently, more than 600 trucks are equipped with this turn-off assistant, and by the end of the year it should be over 900. In June 2018 EDEKA and Netto Marken-Discount agreed with the Ministry of Transport to undertake a safety partnership.
For more information:
EDEKA ZENTRALE AG & Co. KG
Unternehmenskommunikation
Tel. 040 / 6377 - 2182
E-Mail: presse@edeka.de
www.edeka-verbund.de