Mercedes-Benz Trucks has launched the most efficient long-haul truck in SA. Globally, the new Actros has achieved a fuel saving of up to 7%.

Reliability, efficiency and safety are the three core characteristics that define the new Mercedes-Benz Actros. With more than 25,000 vehicles sold in SA since it was introduced to the market in 1998, the Actros family has long been the most significant success story in the heavy-duty truck sector. The current Actros is the market leader in this segment.

The new Actros was launched in Europe in 2011, available then only as a Euro VI. To meet the high requirements set out by Mercedes-Benz Trucks in terms of reliability and market suitability, extensive technical and product modifications were made to the European Actros to ensure the new truck lives up to Mercedes-Benz Trucks’ brand reputation of “Trucks you can trust”.

The high standards set by the previous Actros are a tough act to follow, but the new Actros succeeds in doing this, making life even easier for operators by cutting fuel costs and increasing vehicle availability.

A key factor that allows the new Actros to achieve this is a drivetrain from a single source. The engines, transmissions and axles are all designed and manufactured by Mercedes-Benz in-house, and components in the drivetrain can be perfectly matched to each other.

Here’s what you can expect from the new Actros:

• The new Actros sets a new standard as the most efficient truck, delivering on its promise of road efficiency by looking at the sum of the details.
• The new StreamSpace Cabhas been tested extensively in the wind tunnel, resulting in the most aerodynamic shape yet.
• Advanced new Euro III (OM460) and Euro V (OM471) enginesare combined with an optimised drivetrain, the PowerShift 3 transmission, which results in 50% faster shift times and fuel savings of up to seven percent globally.
• The vehicle was tested locallywith full loads under extreme conditions and returned a fuel saving of six percent.
• Flexible service intervals ensure that maximum value is derived from all service components, leading to increased service intervals, less wastage and lower maintenance costs. This resulted in up to six percent lower maintenance rates and service intervals up to 50 000km for the Euro-3 engines, and up to 80,000km for the Euro V vehicles.
• With five new safety assistant systems, the Actros offers greater levels of safety. The Active Brake Assist 4, the world’s first emergency brake assistance system in the transport sector, which can detect moving pedestrians, is part of the comprehensive list of standard safety equipment on all fuel specification (hazardous goods) vehicles.
• Offering high levels of reliability, the Actros covered more than 16-million test kilometres in SA during developments at the East London plant’s engine durability test department. In addition, it covered more than 60-million kilometres globally.
• In terms of driving uptime, Fleetboard vehicle analysis provides intelligent vehicle data for maximised vehicle availability and use.
• Fleetboard and Fleetboard Eco Support provide effective driver support in real time by displaying driving tips that reduce fuel consumption in the instrument cluster during the journey. Both Fleetboard and Fleetboard Eco Support are standard on all new Actros models.