Scania’s all-electric car transporter starts service

From Shoprite distribution vehicles in South Africa to mining tippers and crane trucks, the range of applications covered by Scania’s fleet of battery-electric trucks just keeps on growing. The latest milestone achieved is the world’s first all-electric Scania standard car transporter, which was recently put into service by Bavaria-based logistics giant ARS Altmann Automobillogistik.

The 230 kWh-strong Scania P 25 battery-electric vehicle is being used by ARS Altmann in distribution transport. It has been combined with a Kässbohrer body and trailer that enable simple, safe, and quick loading and unloading of the cars.

“Up to eight cars can be transported with this truck, without it being too long or too tall. With a total combination weight of up to 42 tonnes (the maximum allowed in Germany), the electric Scania can be fully charged in less than 90 minutes at a maximum of 130 kW (CCS 2),” explains Thiemo Freyer, product manager for electric mobility at Scania.

This means that when cars are transported from production to storage, the truck battery can be charged to 100% at the destination, during unloading and loading, so the transporter is ready to go for the next tour with full battery capacity.

A company with sustainable ambitions

In many ways, ARS Altmann is an ideal customer for a Scania electric truck. Like Scania, it has an extensive and ambitious corporate sustainability strategy. “As part of ARS Altmann’s eco-strategy, our major goal is to achieve CO₂ neutrality by 2030,” says Wolfgang Ketterle, chief operating officer.

With 650 special trucks transporting cars of all kinds on a daily basis, the company wants to diversify its transport fleet towards vehicles that run on renewable energy, as well as exploring other associated aspects. These include charging solutions and power, which are elements of the three pillars of the company’s strategy: road, rail, and bases.

Long-distance transport over 300 km is possible thanks to the so-called “ARS ecosystem” on the company’s own railway wagons. Meanwhile, a large photovoltaic project includes the roofing of the company premises with carports, generating enough electricity to operate several electric truck fleets. A mobile storage concept is also fed from these systems, enabling the flexible use of e-trucks at different locations, even if the public infrastructure is not sufficiently developed.

“Scania has been a good partner for a long time. With this new e-truck experience, we are continuing our previous collaboration. Working together on this pilot project intensifies our relationship,” says Alberto Picco, sales director at ARS Altmann.

“We support our customers with purely electric vehicle solutions as well as with the necessary charging infrastructure and services. Scania thus offers a comprehensive range of services to successfully master the switch to electromobility,” adds Christian Hottgenroth, director sales trucks at Scania Germany Austria.

Happy drivers

The new P 25 has already been driven by some of the logistics company’s regular drivers – with favourable reactions.

“The first impressions of the truck are tremendous! The handling is very good and compared to the diesel it is lively,” says Manfred Rakoczi, one of the first drivers of the new truck.

ARS Altmann’s purchase of the Scania P 25 was supported by a grant from a €188 000 joint pilot project funded by the Federal Ministry for Digital Affairs and Transport. The grant forms part of the directive on the promotion of light and heavy commercial vehicles with alternative, climate-friendly drives and the associated tank and charging infrastructure.