During the 2011 edition of the annual “Trailer” international trade fair for trailers and equipment, the new Mercedes Benz Actros truck won the “2012 Truck of the Year” award. Launched at the beginning of this year, this vehicle wins this award for the fourth time in its history. Previous Truck of the Year awards were won in 1997, 2004 and 2009.
With a total of eight “Truck of the Year” awards, Mercedes Benz is the most successful company to take part in this competition that rewards technology development. Last year, at the IAA International expo in Hannover, Germany, the Mercedes Benz Atego won the 2011 Truck of the Year award.
According to these competition’s rules, the title is given each year to the truck that brings the most significant contribution to large commercial vehicle transport innovation, fuel economy, CO2 emissions, safety, maneuverability and comfort. With a total of 161 points, the Mercedes Benz Actros truck won the award, the truck placed on the second position only managing to earn 67 point, while third place earned 50 points.
Hubertus Troska, the president for Mercedes Benz Trucks was the one to officially receive the award, during a special ceremony at the Mercedes Benz symposium in Kortijk, Belgium. The press release quotes him: “We are proud that the Truck Of The Year Jury has confirmed our efforts with this honour. Because over 10 years of dedicated effort and a lot of passion, heart and soul on the part of the entire team went into the making of the new Actros. The Actros is set to be our most important truck for the coming years, and this was a great motivation for us at Mercedes-Benz to create a milestone in this sector.”
With more than 700,000 units sold since the model was launched in 1997, the Mercedes Benz Actros is the world’s most appreciated heavy duty truck. However, even the model was extremely well built in the past, for the current generation Mercedes Benz engineers and designers decided to start from scratch. Among the vehicle’s highlights we have a significantly lower fuel consumption and a reduced pressure felt by truck drivers thanks to the truck’s increased maneuverability and comfort. On the other hand, the truck already complies with the strict Euro VI emissions standards that are scheduled to be introduced in September 2014. Compared to the previous generation, the new Actros has a fuel economy improved by 6-7 percent (Euro V version) and 3-4 percent (Euro VI version).