| | Gottlieb Daimler built the world’s very first truck in 1896. In the early days of the automobile this vehicle was still reminiscent of a motorized coach. Daimler delivered it to London. As the 19th century came to an end, transport already knew no boundaries. |
| From Süddeutsche Automobilfabrik to Freightliner |
As with passenger cars, Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz were competitors in the commercial vehicle sector. While Daimler was producing his first truck, Benz was working on so-called delivery vehicles, the precursors to today’s vans. In 1923, three years before the two companies merged, they both developed a truck with a diesel engine.
The history of commercial vehicles bearing the Mercedes star is also a story of takeovers. Numerous well-known brands in commercial vehicle history have been absorbed into the present DaimlerChrysler corporation. This already began in 1911, when Benz acquired Süddeutsche Automobilfabrik (SAF) in Gaggenau. Later this was followed by parts of Auto Union, Hanomag-Henschel, Krupp and Freightliner. Together they form the many roots of the globally successful commercial vehicles made by Mercedes-Benz. |
| From the gearwheel transmission to the diesel truck |
| There are many vehicles in the star-studded history of Mercedes-Benz trucks whose mention still elicits an enthusiastic response from aficionados. A truck with a gear-driven transmission and a tubular radiator (an invention by Daimler’s closest collaborator, Wilhelm Maybach) was already produced in 1898. The first diesel trucks followed in 1923. During the same period, loading was made easier by low-frame designs. In 1932 the Mercedes-Benz LO 2000 was the first diesel-powered light-duty truck to enter large-scale production. The heavy-duty models L 6500, L 8500 and L 10000 made their impressive appearance in the 1930s. |
| The change to short-nose trucks |
| Daimler-Benz AG successfully entered the post-war era with the L 3500 and its numerous derivations, as well as the Unimog. The L 6600 became the standard truck in the heavy-duty segment. In the 1950s the company followed somewhat capricious new legislation with equally capricious designs such as the LP 333, which had two steered front axles. The short-nose trucks were the result of the same legal constraints. These were followed by the cab-over-engine models of the LP series, which sounded the death-knell of the conventional truck in Europe. The cab-over-engine design had long been the norm when new truck generations were introduced - NG ("New Generation"), LK ("Light Class") and SK ("Heavy Class"), and the same applies to the T1 van series, which marked a change to the short nose design from 1977. |
| New names with modern technology |
| Vito, Sprinter, Vario, Atego, Actros: since 1995 all new van and truck series have been given names. At the same time Mercedes-Benz began an unprecedented renewal program with these vehicles. Within a very short time the brand renewed all its model series, accompanied by the introduction of trailblazing electronic control systems for the powertrain and braking system. These gave an immense technological impetus to the entire commercial vehicle sector. |
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