PHILIPPINES

World’s first all-electric Scania standard car transporter goes into service

13 APRIL 2023

Scania P 25 with Kässbohrer body and trailer introduced to daily transports by German logistics specialist ARS Altmann Automobillogistik.

From regional haulage 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 to be 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 enables simple, safe and quick loading and unloading of the cars.

“Up to eight cars can be transported with this truck, without being too long or too tall. With a total combination weight of up to 42 tons (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.

It means that when the cars are transported from production to storage, the truck battery can be charged to 100% during the unloading and loading process at the destination. The next tour then starts again 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 such as charging solutions and power, which are elements of the three pillars of the company’s strategy: road, rail and bases.

Long-distance transports over 300 kilometres are implemented in the ‘ARS ecosystem’ on the company's own railway wagons, while a large photovoltaic project includes the roofing of the company premises with carports, generating enough electricity for the operation of several fleets of electric trucks. A mobile storage concept, which is also fed from these systems, enables 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 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.

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

ARS Altmann’s purchase of the Scania P 25 was supported by a grant from a €188,000 joint pilot project that is being funded by the Federal Ministry for Digital Affairs and Transport, as 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 (KsNI).