Mercedes-Benz Actros wins ‘Green Truck 2015’ title

The Mercedes-Benz Actros 1842 has emerged as the most fuel-efficient and eco-friendly truck of 2015 at this year's Green Truck Award.

Edging ahead of the competition by virtue of its low fuel consumption, the vehicle clocked an average fuel consumption of 22.9 litres per 100 kilometres in independent tests conducted last year by the editorial teams of the automotive magazines ‘Trucker’ and ‘VerkehrsRundschau’.

The primary assessment criterion is fuel consumption and the attendant CO₂ emissions. The fuel consumption figures are ascertained on the basis of results obtained by the magazines on a standardised route.

Commenting on the award, Ulrich Bastert, responsible for sales, marketing and services at Mercedes-Benz Trucks, said: "For Mercedes-Benz Trucks, the Green Truck provides further evidence that our trucks with their low fuel consumption lead the field in terms of economy and total cost of ownership. This benefits both our customers and the environment, as the lower the fuel consumption, the lower the CO₂ emissions. So we have the ideal trucks for our customers in our range".

Helping the Actros with its fuel efficiency is the Predictive Powertrain Control (PPC) cruise control system. PPC knows the topography which lies ahead, adapting accordingly for maximum fuel efficiency. The new driver assistance system really comes into its own on gradients: as the world's first GPS cruise control, in addition to controlling vehicle speed and braking, PPC also intervenes in the transmission control system.

In this way, the system complements in a sustainable manner the consumption-reducing deployment times of the EcoRoll function which features as standard on board the Actros while also initiating timely single or double downshifts as appropriate to the driving situation.

Mercedes-Benz says this pioneering technology can cut diesel consumption by up to five percent, thus demonstrably reducing a truck's total cost of ownership. The specification contingent for PPC currently stands at over 70 percent and rising in the Actros family. For customers who do not opt for PPC from the outset, a retrofit option for the predictive cruise control in the new Actros, Antos and Arocs has recently been introduced at Mercedes-Benz service partners throughout Europe.