News from Mercedes-Benz: The Mercedes-Benz Actros has made a winning start to a bold new initiative designed to prove beyond all doubt that as well as being the smartest, most reliable and driver-friendly truck on the road, it’s a champion at the pumps too.
The Fuel Challenger programme invites operators to allow an Actros demonstrator to go head to head with one of their own vehicles, then measure the diesel consumption of both side by side.
One month in and the Mercedes-Benz contender has already won nine of its first ten challenges – the ‘defeat’ was only by a narrow margin and the truck with the three-pointed star was carrying a full six tonnes more than its rival.
The Fuel Challenger tractor units all wear a highly visible and very distinctive white and green livery, and all are fitted with Daimler FleetBoard telematics equipment that is providing mercilessly accurate appraisals of their fuel consumption during the trials.
There are five Fuel Challenger vehicles, all Actros 2545 models with 449 hp six-cylinder engines and aerodynamic StreamSpace cabs. Three are flat-floored, 2.5 metre-wide variants, the other two 2.3 metre versions with 170 mm engine humps.
Director National Sales Mercedes-Benz and FUSO Trucks, Vincente Connolly, said, “Fuel Challenger might seem like a strategy fraught with risk but we have complete faith in our products. Time and time again, customers who are already running Actros tell us that our vehicles beat those from the competition by a comfortable margin.
“Now, with our Fuel Challenger tractors already on the road, more operators across the country are taking the ‘no-risk’ opportunity to find out by just how much our trucks can reduce their fuel bills and how our Dealer network can add value to their businesses.”
