Scania's electric trucks can now travel up to 720 km on a single charge

Scania has presented a new solution addressing one of the biggest challenges in transport electrification: using electric trucks for long-haul transport. By combining greater battery capacity, MCS megawatt charging and a carefully designed vehicle configuration, the company has achieved a range of up to 720 km on a single charge, while balancing payload capacity and operational efficiency.

Extra batteries and a new front design

The solution relies on additional battery packs placed behind the cab, alongside the batteries already mounted on the chassis and beneath the cab. In a typical configuration, two MP20 battery packs with a combined capacity of around 356 kWh can be installed behind the cab. These extra batteries are combined with Scania's IVD technology, which extends the front of the cab forward, enabling a 6x2*4 tractor unit to be paired with a standard European semi-trailer even when the vehicle's total length exceeds 16.5 metres, without compromising maneuverability.

The new front-end design also improves aerodynamics, reducing energy consumption by up to 3% depending on the vehicle's specification and operating conditions — a particularly significant factor for electric trucks, since air resistance accounts for a large share of total energy use.

Charging and application

The Megawatt Charging System (MCS) delivers high charging power, allowing shorter charging breaks and more efficient use of the vehicle's working time. Lars Gustafsson, Senior Vice President of Scania's solutions management, noted that long-haul operations impose different requirements regarding range, payload and charging compared to other applications, and that the new solution allows these factors to be combined in practice, making electrification achievable for the most demanding long-haul operators.