“The three new Mercedes-Benz vehicles clearly deserve a triple A rating,” said Andreas Renschler, the Daimler Board of Management Member responsible for Daimler Trucks and Daimler Buses, at the Arocs world premiere, which took place today in Munich. “The first three representatives of our heavy-duty truck platform are giving our global module strategy a big boost. At the same time, the all-new Arocs is enabling us to bring our Euro VI offensive for heavy-duty trucks to a close a full nine months before the new emissions limit goes into effect.” As a result, Mercedes-Benz customers are well prepared not only with regard to timing but also with respect to the total cost of ownership. Although the trucks are fitted with complex Euro VI technology, the Actros, Antos, and also the new Arocs are more efficient than their predecessor models. In fact, fuel consumption has been reduced by up to five percent.
The investment in the development of new vehicles is paying off. In 2012 Daimler Trucks produced almost as many vehicles in 11 months as it did in the whole of 2011, when the division’s six truck brands (Mercedes-Benz, Fuso, Freightliner, Western Star, Thomas Built Buses, and BharatBenz) manufactured approximately 426,000 vehicles. “Daimler Trucks substantially increased sales in 2012, despite volatile markets,” said Renschler. “We want to grow this year as well, especially in the second half of the year. We are benefiting from our global business model. Although the debt crisis hampered markets in Europe, Mercedes-Benz was able to buck the general trend, thanks, in part, to the model offensive spearheaded by the new Actros. In Germany, three out of four new Mercedes-Benz Actros trucks are already being ordered with Euro VI technology.”
Arocs to be launched on the market in mid-2013
Beginning in May 2013, the new Mercedes-Benz Arocs will be gradually introduced in Europe. In addition to being extremely environmental friendly as a result of Euro VI technology, the special construction vehicles boast three special attributes: power, efficiency, and robustness.
Never before in the history of Mercedes-Benz Trucks has the range of heavy-duty construction vehicles been as broad as it is today. The truck brand was established more than 110 years ago, when automobiles began to supplant horse-drawn vehicles. “Our roots are here in the construction industry,” said Stefan Buchner, Head of Mercedes-Benz Trucks since December 2012, at the presentation of the all-new Arocs. “Mercedes-Benz has shaped the construction sector more than any other truck manufacturer. We have an above-average market share in nearly all areas of the construction sector. Almost half of the construction site trucks in Germany sport the Mercedes star on their hoods. More than two out of five Mercedes-Benz trucks sold worldwide are construction site vehicles.”
The all-new Arocs is Mercedes-Benz Trucks’ third heavy-duty special vehicle. The first was the Actros for long-haulage operations, followed by the Antos for heavy-duty distribution transportation, and now the Arocs for the heavy-duty construction segment. Stefan Buchner is convinced that this product strategy exactly matches the interests of today’s customers. “All-purpose vehicles are increasingly becoming a thing of the past,” he said. “That’s why we used a common platform to develop custom-tailored vehicle series for individual segments.”
This product strategy is already beginning to pay off for the Actros. “To date, we have sold more than 16.000 units of the new Actros truck in Europe,” Buchner said. “One-third of these trucks feature Euro VI technology. It was mainly due to the Actros that no other manufacturer sold more tractors in Europe last year than we did.”
The construction industry has a lot of catching-up to do
Andreas Renschler, Head of Daimler Trucks, predicts that the all-new Arocs will have a bright future. “The commercial vehicle business will continue to grow globally,” he said. “This is due, in part, to the construction industry, which estimates that alone in Germany there is a demand for 250,000 new apartments per year. New construction was about 40,000 units below this figure in 2012 and will probably be about 20,000 units lower this year. In other words, the construction industry has a lot of catching-up to do.”
