SuperPanther eTopas 600: Partners test the electric lorry at Wilken in Melle

The event made the cooperation agreement between SuperPanther and Alltrucks tangible for the participating garages. Parked in the yard was the eTopas 600 with a loaded tipper semi-trailer from Wilken Haulage. This allowed participants to experience the tractor unit under load on the road.

Thanks to the support of Christian Wilken, the participants were able to put the truck through its paces on the road. Janine Alflen and Andreas Gläser from Michels KFZ-Werkstätte in Hahn am See took part. Werner Brüning and Michael Hanje from Werner Brüning GmbH in Ahlhorn also put the eTopas through its paces.

Michels has been an Alltrucks partner for ten years and celebrated the anniversary in September at the IAA in Hanover. The workshop profile of Michels showcases this family-run business.

Anyone who has driven an electric lorry under load themselves will be better able to assess the driver’s descriptions during vehicle handover and ask more specific questions.

The eTopas 600 from „SuperPanther by Steyr“ is the result of a Sino-Austrian joint venture. The vehicle is manufactured in Steyr exclusively for the European market.

A battery-electric heavy-duty lorry is a commercial vehicle whose electric motor draws power from a traction battery. During deceleration, the drive system can convert kinetic energy back into electrical energy and store it. This energy recovery affects energy consumption during operation. For garages, therefore, the battery, charging technology and the interaction between the electric drive and the braking system are all part of vehicle maintenance.

According to the product specifications, the range is over 500 kilometres and can be further increased through intelligent energy recovery. Added to this are a dual charging system with charging on both sides at over 400 kW and a kerb weight of 10.8 tonnes. Thanks to the charging ports on both sides, the driver can approach the charging point from either the left or the right. The unladen weight of the tractor unit has a direct impact on the payload remaining in the articulated lorry.

The range is influenced by a combination of load, route profile, speed and outside temperature. These factors form part of the technical background set out in the Electric Lorry Guide. You should therefore record the customer’s route and load conditions when making an estimate.

The available charging power also depends on the vehicle and the specific charging point. Battery temperature and state of charge also influence how the charging process proceeds. When planning your investment in electric mobility, you should therefore ensure that your site’s power supply is compatible with the vehicles you intend to use.

SuperPanther and Alltrucks signed their agreement on 29 September 2025 in Munich. Through this partnership, SuperPanther gains access to Alltrucks’ European network of workshops for commercial vehicle services. For the manufacturer, ensuring high vehicle availability for its customers is a key priority. From the very first day of delivery, a new lorry needs garages that can service and repair it.

The partnership covers the manufacturer’s entire after-sales division. Qualified partner workshops can carry out maintenance, repairs and servicing for the eTopas. The partner workshops carry out the work, whilst Alltrucks provides the service platform for workshops and fleets.

According to Schulz, the partnership aims to make fleet processes more efficient and reduce service-related delays. Maintaining a consistent standard of service across national borders is also one of the stated objectives.

Alltrucks partner garages can qualify as authorised garages and, consequently, as SuperPanther Service Partners. For owners and garage managers, this involves deciding which work their business should undertake. This, in turn, determines which mechanics will receive training.

Training carried out on the vehicle itself combines technical information with the components at the trainee’s own workstation. This enables trainees to understand the operation and scheduled maintenance procedures directly on the forklift truck. The mechanics who will eventually be working in your company should take part in these training courses.

Work on high-voltage systems requires qualifications appropriate to the task and clear safety procedures. This includes disconnecting the vehicle from the power supply before starting work and securing it against being switched on again. During maintenance, the battery cooling circuit and the inspection of the high-voltage cables must also be carried out. Before carrying out high-voltage work in the workshop, responsibilities, the work area and the vehicle’s safe condition must be established. SuperPanther’s product training complements the high-voltage qualification.

You should therefore coordinate the manufacturer’s schedule with your training programme and Alltrucks training courses. When selecting high-voltage training courses for your team, the planned work to be carried out on the vehicle should be the deciding factor. Make a record of who is authorised to carry out which tasks and who is responsible for signing off on them.

Setting up an electric lorry workshop also requires suitable workstations and a structured approach to handling the vehicles.

Delivery of the first customer vehicles was announced for September 2026. This means that services for fleets and authorised workshops will become part of day-to-day operations. For Alltrucks, the partnership also offers the opportunity to build up further expertise in electrically powered commercial vehicles. This expertise will benefit the entire network as the number of electric lorries in fleets continues to grow.

For maintenance appointments, the workshop requires details of the vehicle, its usage and the customer order. For electric commercial vehicles, the state of charge and, where applicable, charging times must also be included in order planning. This enables vehicle movements, workstation allocation and the final handover of the vehicle to be prepared.

The test drives in Melle gave the participating partners their first practical experience of the eTopas. The in-house training sessions will now prepare staff for maintenance and repair work. Would you like to have your Alltrucks business accredited as a SuperPanther authorised workshop? Please contact your Alltrucks representative.