Mercedes-Benz delivers 10,000th Econic with Allison transmission 22 February 2011

The 10,000th Econic truck fitted with an Allison automatic transmission has been officially handed over to the AWB municipal waste company of Cologne, Germany.

The authority now runs 130 Econics, all equipped with Allison fully automatic transmissions and, in the next three years, says it will purchase a further 76.

"The Allison fully automatic transmission and the low entry cab have proven successful in working practice and thus have become a must-have with regard to vehicle procurement," comments Herbert Winkelhog, managing director of AWB.

"For 10 years the Econic has been a constant in our fleet. We are very pleased that the milestone Econic will be driving through Cologne in the future," he adds.

At the market launch in 1998, the Econic was presented as a chassis purely for the refuse sector. But the low-entry concept quickly convinced other sectors of its benefits. Now, the Econic is used for a huge range of applications, including municipal, distribution, airport ground services, beverage delivery fire-fighting and even as an articulated fuel tanker.

The truck has been available as a four, six and eight-wheeler, with gross vehicle weight options of 18, 26 and 32 tonnes. The drivetrain is either an in-line six-cylinder OM 906 LA with power ranging from 175kW to 210kW or the OM 926 LA with 240kW.

In 2002, as an alternative to the diesel powerpack was made available with a CNG engine M906 LAG, delivering 205kW. Since then, more than 1,000 Econic CNG vehicles have been put into service.

Transport engineers that have gone for the Econic and Allison combination say that its torque converter technology and power shifting ensure excellent vehicle performance at low engine speed.

"Allison transmissions are characterised by high efficiency, with minimal, easy maintenance. That's why we decided to make them standard in the Econic. They have been very conducive to the success of the Econic," comments Michael Dietz, head of sales, Mercedes Benz Special Trucks.

Author
Brian Tinham

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