OREANDA-NEWS. The year 2012 saw Mercedes-Benz achieve a market share in Europe of around 23 percent in the sector for heavy-duty trucks with a permissible gross vehicle weight of 16 t and over, so consolidating its position as the market leader. In the highly competitive sub-segment of semitrailer tractor units Mercedes-Benz in fact took the lead, with a market share of 19.4 percent. More than half of these customers opted for the new Mercedes-Benz Actros, the Truck of the Year 2012.

Overall, more than one in three Actros sold in 2012 was a Euro VI version (37 percent) – two years before the official introduction of the Euro VI emissions standard. In the last quarter of 2012 this figure rose to 44 percent. In Germany, the proportion of Euro VI orders was as high as 70 percent.

The introduction of Euro VI-compliant vehicles has developed into something of a success model for both fleet operators and manufacturer. Mercedes-Benz has put considerable effort into the introduction and into meeting the standard ahead of the deadline; and it continues to lead the competition in this field. From the customer's point of view, as well, Euro VI represents a good investment, thanks to the significantly reduced fuel consumption that the new Actros was able to demonstrate as far back as 2011: in a comparison drive over a distance of 10,000 km between Rotterdam and Stettin, an Actros 1845 LS BlueTec 6 with StreamSpace cab delivered a 4.5 percent advantage in fuel consumption over the previous model, the Actros BlueTec 5.

In everyday use, too, the new Actros boasts impressive consumption figures. Mercedes-Benz asked customers from 12 different European countries how satisfied they were with the new Actros – and the customers reported back reductions in fuel consumption of between five and 15 percent.