The world premiere of the first fully battery-powered electric truck by Tatra Trucks took place at the e-Salon 2025 trade fair in Prague

19.11.2025

The Tatra Trucks today manufacturer unveiled its first fully battery-powered electric truck, the Tatra Force e-Drive BEV 8x8, in a world premiere. This happened during a ceremonial event at the e-Salon 2025 trade fair, which is currently taking place at the PVA EXPO exhibition center in Prague. The new Tatra vehicle is presented to the professional public and visitors in Hall No. 5 of the Letňany exhibition center in Prague until November 16, when the fair ends.

Tatra Trucks has been developing vehicles with alternative drive systems as part of the Tatra Force e-Drive series for several years, and the new electric vehicle is the third vehicle in this series that Tatra has built. The manufacturer received subsidies for the project as part of the TAČR TREND project. Tatra collaborated on the new product with Devinn, which was in charge of implementing the high-voltage system, and Eaton, which supplied a special four-speed automated transmission. The electric vehicle was introduced during the ceremony by Jakub Pončík, Technical Director of Tatra Trucks, who said, among other things: “The Tatra Force e-Drive BEV 8x8 is intended to verify the installation of a fully electric drive system with traction batteries into a truck for mixed operation on roads even in the most difficult terrain, which is typical for the construction or mining industry, for example. That is why we chose the form of a dump truck for the prototype presented today with a typically Tatra chassis with a central backbone tube and swinging independent half-axles, in addition to all-eight-wheel drive.”

The designers have equipped the electric vehicle with elements that comply with the latest European legislation within the framework of the General Safety Regulation, such as an obstacle warning system or blind spot monitoring, or a system informing the driver about the maximum permitted speed in a given location or monitoring tire pressure. The electric vehicle has the latest two-door cabin of the Tatra Force series in an extended version with integrated ROPS (Roll Over Protection System) and FOPS (Falling Objects Protection System) protection. Another novelty is the camera system located on the cabin, which replaces the rear-view mirrors. In the interior, the crew has an electronic dashboard with on-board displays, and LED lighting is also available. The elegant appearance of the trucks was taken care of by industrial designer Lukáš Taneček, who has been working with Tatra for many years and is also the author of the design of the Tatra Force model series, which won the Red Dot 2024 award.

The drive system of the truck, 8.6 m long and 2.9 m high, includes a Danfoss electric motor with a continuous power of 330 kW (max. power can be up to 550 kW) and a torque of 2300 Nm (maximum can reach up to 2600 Nm), as well as 12 traction batteries with a total capacity of 480 kWh, two power electronics coolers and other electronic modules that serve both for heating and cooling the batteries. Due to the diverse conditions and nature of the operation for which it is intended, the new electric Tatra Force e-Drive BEV 8x8 also has an automated four-speed Eaton EV transmission and an additional Tatra transmission. The vehicle's range reaches 300 to 400 km depending on the terrain and method of use.

The vehicle uses the chassis platform of the third generation of the Tatra Force model series. The first two steered axles have a connectable drive, have air suspension with stabilizer and axle differentials, and their load capacity is 10 tons each. The rear two permanently driven axles have a load capacity of up to 13 tons each, have heavy combined suspension with air bellows and are equipped with axle differentials and an interaxle differential. The chassis is equipped with an electronic braking system (EBS) with a load sensor and drum brakes on all wheels, which are suitable for operation in muddy environments, for example. The total maximum weight of the electric vehicle can be 44 tons, of which 22 tons are for the maximum payload, and it can also tow a trailer weighing 18 tons.

“The Tatra Force e-Drive BEV 8x8 is another vehicle in the e-Drive series with various alternative drive systems that we have introduced since 2023. The first was the Tatra Force e-Drive FCEV 8x6 using hydrogen fuel cells, the second was the Tatra Force e-Drive PHEV 8x8 with a hybrid drivetrain combining an electric motor and a Tatra eight-cylinder combustion engine. We are now working on other prototypes with specific practical use, for example, a battery electric vehicle with an auxiliary combustion engine as a range extender or a truck with an electric motor and hydrogen fuel cells for operation in urban agglomerations and for municipal services with automated control system,” said Radomír Smolka, member of the Tatra Trucks Board of Directors responsible for research and development, about the future of the development of electric or electrified Tatra vehicles.