500,000th Mercedes-Benz Actros rolls off assembly line

The 500,000th Mercedes-Benz Actros truck rolled off the assembly line at the company’s production plant in Wörth, Germany, on June 22. The arctic-white 1841 LS semitrailer tractor was handed over to Hervé Street, president of the French shipping company Star’s Service, by Hubertus Troska, head of Mercedes-Benz Trucks (Europe/Latin America), and Ulrich Bastert, head of Mercedes-Benz Trucks Sales and Marketing. The Actros is the Mercedes-Benz Trucks flagship model and the most widely produced heavy-duty truck in Europe. It was presented for the first time by Mercedes-Benz 11 years ago, and the second generation of the model series has been on the market since 2003.

“With a 22 percent market share in Western Europe in 2006, and customers in more than 100 countries, the Actros is a truly global truck that reliably performs its services from the arctic cold of Siberia to the sub-tropic climate of central Africa,” said Troska at the ceremony in which the milestone vehicle was handed over to the customer. “Half-a-million vehicles manufactured underscores the outstanding success of our flagship model as a technology leader, which combines reliability, economy, and comfort at the highest levels.”

In 1996, the Actros revolutionized the truck world with the introduction of the first-ever electronically controlled braking system in combination with all-round disc brakes. Soon after, it was equipped with further safety and assistance systems, and its cab underwent a major overhaul in 2003. Two years ago, the Actros was used for the advance launch of a series of clean and economical diesel engines featuring BlueTec technology. Today, the Actros is setting standards again as the world's safest truck with the Active Brake Assist emergency braking system.

The customer for the 500,000th Actros, Star’s Service, is the market leader in the French regional freight-forwarding sector. The company operates a fleet of 1,700 commercial vehicles, including 420 Mercedes-Benz Actros, Axor and Atego trucks, and 1,000 Sprinter and Vito vans. Founded in 1987, Star’s Service posted revenues of €100 million in 2006.

The DaimlerChrysler Truck Group is a division of DaimlerChrysler AG and the world's largest manufacturer of commercial vehicles. The Truck Group and its five leading brands – Mercedes-Benz, Freightliner, Sterling, Western Star and Fuso – have more than 50 locations in Western Europe, Asia, the NAFTA region and Latin America. The Truck Group sold 537,000 trucks worldwide last year.