Trucksales Staff•22 Jul 2016
NEWS
Australian evaluation program for new Mercedes-Benz trucks
The Australian market is unique in many ways and that, in part, explains why it has taken so long for the launch of the new Mercedes-Benz ActrosA fleet of 15 Mercedes-Benz trucks has racked up more than one million kilometres on local roads in preparation for the launch of its next generation truck in the final quarter of this year.
The new Actros, developed from the ground up for a cool one billion Euros, was launched in Europe five years ago and more than 100,000 are now on the road in Europe.
However, Mercedes-Benz Australia has said it was not about to rush the truck onto local roads.
Australia is particularly tough on equipment and our trucks run hotter for longer, with higher loads and often at higher speeds than European rigs.
Before its 2011 launch, Mercedes-Benz put the truck through more than 20 million test kilometres from the 40-degree heat of the Sierra Nevada to the minus-40 degree chill of the Arctic Circle, but the Australian arm still required its own comprehensive evaluation program.
In late 2014, Mercedes-Benz sent out the first of 15 evaluation trucks that would be put to work on unforgiving Australian fleets.
Mercedes-Benz says this was done partly for durability, with trucks dispatched to routes that covered some of the worst roads in Australia, but also to find out what Australian customers wanted from the new-generation truck.
"We had an opportunity with the new generation truck and our new management structure to deliver a range of trucks that really suits the needs of the customers," says Mercedes-Benz Truck and Bus director, Michael May (pictured).
"We wanted our customers to tell us what they liked and what could be improved and that has been rolled into the program."
As a result, a range of items such as fuel tanks, AdBlue tanks, diff ratios, radios and cab beds have all been configured specially for Australian versions of the new Actros.
The evaluation program was also used to make sure Mercedes-Benz technicians are primed and ready to work on the new truck when they start rolling into service departments.
Mercedes-Benz won’t release all the details of its new truck range but is likely to offer four different sizes of its all-new engine, some with Euro V and some with Euro VI emission ratings.
The current V6 and V8 engines have been retired, with engineers opting for an in-line six-cylinder design. The new engine is built off the same base as the Detroit DD15 family, which features in Freightliner and Western Star models, sharing much of the same block but featuring a unique head, turbo and other elements.
The range-topping engine will be a 16-litre unit, while a 13-litre, 11-litre and 8-litre are all expected to be available in Australia. Daimler’s Powershift 3 automated manual transmission will be standard on most trucks.
The exact make-up of the range is still being kept secret, but the new truck will cover everything from local distribution to heavy-duty road train work.
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Written byTrucksales Staff
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