Five of the new trucks are already in service, while the remaining five are scheduled to enter operation later this year. They join Marks & Spencer’s (M&S) existing fleet of eight battery-electric articulated trucks and five battery-electric rigid trucks.
The DAF XD Electric tractor units, which went into series production in September of last year, are equipped with a 525 kWh (462 kWh usable) battery pack. The retailer expects the vehicles to operate at gross vehicle weights between 32 and 42 tonnes and achieve daily ranges of 250 to 300 miles (402 to 483 kilometres), depending on route profile, payload and operating conditions. According to the company, the truck currently in service has consistently achieved up to 300 miles on a single charge under real-world conditions.
M&S emphasises that one of the new DAF XD Electric vehicles features an integrated inverter that enables a refrigerated trailer to be powered directly from the truck’s high-voltage battery. The system converts the vehicle’s DC battery power into AC electricity for the trailer’s refrigeration unit, eliminating the need for a separate diesel-powered refrigeration engine. According to the retailer, this is the first deployment of the technology on a DAF truck in the UK.
