One of South Wales' biggest fleet operators, Owens Road Services, has bought its first Mercedes-Benz tractor units since the late 1990s, following trials with New Actros units.
Director Eurof Owen recalls: "We'd seen and heard good things about Actros' fuel efficiency. So, with diesel costs at the top of the agenda these days, [we] decided to try a couple of demonstrators. Both performed impressively, but one did particularly well, returning 9 mpg at 44 tonnes."
The firm, which provides distribution and storage services primarily to the FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) sector, is now running five Actros 2546s with flat-floored MegaSpace cabs and 460bhp V6 engines matched to Mercedes PowerShift 2 automated transmissions.
All have been fitted with Daimler FleetBoard telematics systems, and are based at Owens' Newport depot, pulling 4.7m-high curtainside trailers to and from the North-West.
Owen says that at an average of 8.5 mpg, the Actros are already one-fifth of a gallon ahead of two of the other marques on the firm's fleet, and two fifths of a gallon better than a third (unnamed) brand – and that's against vehicles that are mostly less than a year old.
"Our new Mercedes are certainly living up their reputation," he says. "These are still early days but they're already ahead of the fleet average. Once we've put a few more miles on them and they've settled down, I'd like to think the mpg figures will get even better."
And he continues: "Our drivers have been trained by Mercedes-Benz and report that their Actros are very comfortable, spacious, and easy to drive.
