Mercedes-Benz’s new Atego range has been elected International Truck of the Year 2011 by a group of 23 European commercial vehicle journalists, representing 23 countries throughout Europe from Ireland to Russia, and Scandinavia to Greece. With a total of 127 votes, the new Atego range fought off the challenge posed by Volvo’s latest FM/FMX Series, which collected 82 votes, while Scania’s powerful long-haul V8 fnished in third place with 45 votes.
According to jury rules, the ITOY award is presented every year to the truck launched in the previous 12 months which has made the greatest contribution to road transport effciency in terms of innovation, comfort, safety, driveability, fuel consumption and emission reduction.
Building on the success of its previous model, Mercedes-Benz has delivered a new medium-duty truck with two distinct ‘souls’. The frst is that of a well-tuned, conventionally-powered truck range with many of the ‘big truck’ features previously found in Mercedes’ heavier Axor and Actros models. The second, the 12-tonne Atego hybrid, is now in series production and in the vanguard of ‘alternative-driveline’ vehicles that will increasingly feature in road-transport feets over the coming years.
On the outside, the latest Atego now has the same family ‘face’ as Mercedes-Benz’s heavy duty truck models with its newly-designed front section and grille. While underneath its cab, the Atego medium truck range now incorporates many of the features previously found in the Actros and Axor. The result of that ‘technology transfer’ in the Atego is a more comfortable and quiet workplace with better storage and neat steering wheel controls.
From a safety perspective, the IToY jurors also appreciated the latest option of a lightweight-yet-powerful auxiliary retarder that spares foundation brakes in most operating conditions, keeping service costs down too. Equally praiseworthy, is Mercedes’ optional ‘stop-start’ system that prevents long idling, cutting fuel consumption and emissions in traffc jams.
Moreover, the 12-tonne 1222 Atego Hybrid - now in series production - opens a whole new opportunity for the company in distribution trucks. With its ability to start off in electric mode, thereby saving fuel, its ‘stop-start’ system and advanced driving function at hi-speed (eco-roll), the Atego Hybrid answers, well in-advance, the future need to cut fuel consumption by 10-15% as well as lower CO2 emissions. And this will be a critical issue for commercial vehicles operating in EU over the coming years.
Having tested the Atego Hybrid twice in the previous 12 months, the jury was impressed by how well Mercedes-Benz’s engineers have integrated the hybrid drive-train into the Atego’s conventional driveline. This translates into an advanced, well-refned medium duty truck that is easy-to-drive but requiring the minimum of training.
Summing up the jury’s vote, the International Truck of the Year chairman Gianenrico Griffni commented: “Mercedes-Benz has delivered a new, multi-faceted, medium-duty truck. Not only does the latest Atego now offer distribution truck drivers many of the features previously found in heavier ‘premium’ long-haulage trucks, but its advanced parallel-hybrid model also addresses the on-going problem of reducing the CO2 footprint from commercial vehicles throughout the EU. This truly is a truck with two souls.”
congrats..