- SuperPanther, a Chinese company founded in 2022, signed an agreement with Lontex Group in mid-May 2026 for the distribution of its electric trucks in Poland and the Czech Republic. The deal gives Lontex, an integrated provider with 14 branches, responsibility for sales, servicing, fleet telematics management and support for charging infrastructure at customers’ depots.
- The flagship model is the eTopas 600, a tractor unit with a 621 kWh LFP battery supplied by CATL, a stated range of 500 km at full load and an 876-volt high-voltage architecture. The dual-connector CCS2 charging system can bring the battery to 80% charge in less than 38 minutes, reducing vehicle downtime.
- SuperPanther’s European strategy is based on four pillars: production in Austria through Semi-Knocked-Down assembly at Steyr Automotive’s plants, widespread maintenance through the Alltrucks network, charging infrastructure with battery storage developed with Elmi Power, and regional distribution entrusted to specialist partners such as Lontex Group.
In mid-May 2026, in the Polish city of Czechowice-Dziedzice, SuperPanther and Lontex Group signed a regional distribution agreement giving the Polish company commercial and technical responsibility for the Polish and Czech markets. The move strengthens the Chinese manufacturer’s presence in one of Europe’s most important road haulage regions, a crossroads between the east-west corridor and routes towards northern Europe. SuperPanther is a technology company founded around 2022 with a model that sets it apart from traditional manufacturers: it operates both as a producer of complete vehicles and as a supplier of core components to other industry operators. For Europe, it has said it aims to register 16,000 electric trucks by 2030 as part of a global strategy called "Enabler", directly challenging the continent’s manufacturers.
Lontex is not simply a dealer, but an integrated operator with 14 branches strategically distributed across Poland. The company will cover sales and servicing, advanced diagnostics, fleet management, remote tachograph reading, operational assistance and legal services. It will also support charging solutions at customers’ depots, in a region where the public high-power network for heavy goods vehicles is still at an early stage of development.
The vehicle at the centre of the commercial strategy is the eTopas 600, a 4x2 tractor unit approved for a gross combination weight of 42 tonnes. The LFP (lithium iron phosphate) batteries are supplied by CATL, the leading Chinese manufacturer, with a gross capacity of 621 kWh. The stated range is about 500 kilometres at full load, enough to cover the full driving shift allowed under European regulations, around 4.5 hours, without the need for intermediate charging. The tractor unit has a kerb weight of 10.8 tonnes and, when coupled with a standard semi-trailer, the combination’s payload is about 24 tonnes.
The eTopas 600 uses an 876-volt high-voltage platform with an in-house developed electric axle that integrates dual motors delivering 394 kW continuous output and 692 kW peak output. The charging system has CCS2 sockets on both sides of the vehicle, allowing simultaneous charging with two connectors at up to 2x330 kW, for a combined power of 660 kW. In this configuration, charging from 20% to 80% takes less than 38 minutes. In addition, the thermal management system with integrated heat pump ensures operation between -30°C and +40°C. Alongside the eTopas 600, SuperPanther has announced the eEmerald series, a line of rigid chassis with different cab and powertrain configurations. The choice of LFP chemistry for a battery pack of this size reflects an established trend among newcomers to electric commercial vehicles: a focus on batteries with a longer life cycle, greater thermal stability and lower exposure to raw material cost fluctuations than NMC chemistries.
To support its stated volumes and overcome the traditional barriers to entry, namely servicing, charging infrastructure and adaptation to local regulations, SuperPanther is developing an ecosystem of European partnerships. In August 2025, it signed a production agreement with Steyr Automotive, the historic Austrian plant already known for commercial vehicle production. Pre-assembled modules arrive from China and are completed in Austria through a process known as Semi-Knocked-Down, integrating components from European suppliers including ZF for the OnGuardMax ADAS systems required for UNECE R131 certification, Schaeffler and Continental. Series production at Steyr is due to begin in summer 2026, with the aim of delivering the first 100-200 vehicles to European customers by the end of the year. The SKD method reduces exposure to potential tariffs on imports of finished vehicles from China while also shortening delivery times.
This was followed in September 2025 by a partnership with the Alltrucks network for multi-brand maintenance on a continental scale, designed to reassure fleet managers over spare parts availability and rapid assistance beyond national borders. In December 2025, SuperPanther announced an alliance with Elmi Power to develop charging stations with battery storage, so-called "battery-buffered" solutions, which are essential for electrifying logistics depots facing limits on local grid capacity. These agreements come on top of the deal signed at IAA 2024 with DHL for the integration and testing of the vehicles in the German group’s international fleets.
Pietro Rossoni
