Chinese electric commercial vehicle manufacturer SuperPanther has started series production of the eTopas 600 tractor unit at the Steyr Automotive plant in Upper Austria, with the first customer deliveries taking place on 27 July 2026. The vehicle, a 4x2 configuration with a gross vehicle weight of up to 42 tonnes and a claimed range of around 600 kilometres, is the result of an industrial agreement that combines Chinese and European components in a single production process. Manufacturing follows the Semi-Knocked-Down (SKD) method: pre-assembled modules arrive from China, including the twin-motor electric axle, power electronics and thermal management system, and are then completed in Austria with components supplied by European companies. ZF supplies the OnGuardMax ADAS systems required for UNECE (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe) R131 certification, while Schaeffler, Continental and Infineon contribute their own components. Steyr Automotive handles final assembly, commissioning and vehicle quality control.
The collaboration between SuperPanther and Steyr Automotive was announced in September 2024 at IAA Transportation in Hanover, when the eTopas 600 was presented as a model designed for the European market. The industrial agreement was then formalised on 12 June 2025. Since March 2026, a test fleet has covered more than 70,000 kilometres in real operating conditions in Germany and Austria, before the first series-production vehicle rolled off the assembly line on 27 July, the same day as the handover ceremony for the first customers. The first eTopas 600 trucks produced on the Steyr line will enter commercial service in Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland and the Czech Republic. Among the first customers to receive series-production vehicles are DHL Freight, which had already been testing the model in Austria for some time, German operator Gress Speditions, Lontex Group, as distributor for central and eastern Europe, and Austrian retailer Temmel.
Around the production operation, SuperPanther has built an ecosystem based on four pillars: in addition to SKD manufacturing, the Alltrucks network provides after-sales service, Elmi Power is developing charging infrastructure with battery storage, and regional distribution in Poland and the Czech Republic is entrusted to Lontex Group. The picture is completed by European WVTA (Whole Vehicle Type Approval), which allows the vehicle to be marketed without restrictions in all 27 European Union member states.
SuperPanther says the start of production in Austria goes beyond simply avoiding EU tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles. Michael Ruf, the company’s head of Europe, said the aim is to build the eTopas 600 "as a European series-production product, with local adaptations, validation and production processes on site", stressing that Europe should be seen "as a system in which a vehicle must work from a regulatory, industrial and operational point of view" and not just as a market to be supplied. Chao Liu, head of SuperPanther, added: "Europe does not need another imported truck. Europe needs an industrial partner". Also supporting the Chinese manufacturer’s decision is the sharp increase in the price of diesel, a factor that could encourage hauliers to shift towards electric transport.
P.R.
