DHL Freight Puts SuperPanther eTopas 600 Electric Truck to Work in Daily Dutch Network

DHL Freight has taken its first European-built SuperPanther eTopas 600 out of the trial phase and into everyday freight duty. Operating from the Netherlands and running cross-border routes into Belgium since September, the battery-electric heavy-duty truck is logging roughly 2,000 kilometres a week, and it is not confined to a single fixed shuttle loop.

DHL quotes a working range of up to 500 kilometres per charge for this deployment, while the vehicle’s factory figures point to as much as 560 kilometres. The eTopas 600 packs a 621 kWh LFP battery supplied by CATL, delivers 394 kW of continuous power with peaks reaching 692 kW, and accepts charging through two CCS2 connectors at a combined maximum of 660 kW. Given favourable conditions, the pack goes from 20 to 80 per cent in no more than 38 minutes.

Before entering routine service, the truck completed a two-week practical trial in Austria. Across that period it covered around 1,900 kilometres, an average of 238 kilometres per day, with DHL reporting consumption of 102 kWh per 100 kilometres. Measured against the reference scenario used during testing, the run avoided roughly 930 kilograms of CO2 equivalents. The DHL Freight and SuperPanther partnership dates back to 2024; the first Europe-built eTopas 600 destined for DHL left the line in July 2026, and by September it was working the company’s network.

The central question DHL wants answered is how flexibly a battery-electric heavy-duty truck can be folded into existing transport networks and cross-border routes. Data gathered during daily operations will be handed to SuperPanther to inform future vehicle generations. SuperPanther, meanwhile, is widening its European footprint: since summer the eTopas 600 has been put together through SKD assembly at Steyr Automotive in Austria, and in early October Austrian logistics firm Gartner ordered 20 units — the brand’s biggest single European order so far. SuperPanther is targeting 1,000 vehicles on European roads by the end of 2027.

DHL Freight intends to keep growing its electric commercial fleet. Heidi van Eldik, CEO of DHL Freight Netherlands & Belgium, says roughly 40 more electric vehicles will join in the coming months alone. The company also advances electrification through partner programmes — logistics provider Pflaum, for instance, runs 20 electric trucks from the Scania-Sennder joint venture Juna on DHL transport work, and Juna now operates about 110 electric trucks across several European countries. DHL Freight reports a total of around 1,700 low-emission vehicles in its fleet and is testing alternative drivetrains alongside battery-electric trucks. Its cooperation with SuperPanther is not limited to the eTopas 600: at IAA Transportation the two parties signed a Memorandum of Understanding covering autonomous driving.