The first production-built new Mercedes-Benz Actros has rolled off the company’s production line in Wörth, Germany, eight months after its IAA Show debut.
The sapphire blue Actros 1851 LS 4x2 tractor features the standard-fit MirrorCam system, which uses cameras in place of traditional mirrors and two 15in screens mounted on the internal A-pillars to show drivers what’s going on outside. Mercedes claims the lack of mirrors improves aerodynamic efficiency and increases fuel economy figures.
Development for the new Actros started back in 2014. The Wörth plant prepared well in advance to accommodate the new assembly process, which utilises virtual reality. Some 50 projects with suppliers were started early, so as to ensure new Actros production wouldn’t run into teething problems.
Stefan Buchner, head of Mercedes-Benz Trucks, attended the Wörth plant to see the first new Actros come off the line, and said that Mercedes “has developed solutions with the clear goals of making it the safest, most efficient and most connected truck ever”.
A Mercedes spokesperson added: “The new Actros was built on one production line alongside its predecessor, and the 1,100 workforce in Wörth were trained in how to install the new technologies to the truck, and we had to install new stations in the factory for this.”