Mercedes-Benz to unveil Black Edition range

Mercedes-Benz Truck & Bus has announced it will unveil an up-spec range of 'Black Edition' truck models early next year

Mercedes-Benz Truck & Bus will bolster its Australian line-up with a highly specified range of 'Black Edition' trucks, with the variants due to reach the local market in the first quarter of 2015.

The General Manager of Mercedes-Benz Truck & Bus Australia/Pacific, Justin Whitford, says Black Edition variants will be offered across the full existing model range, and will incorporate a number of upgrades and enhancements.

"Next year we're releasing a new Black Edition range – it's a premium range of trucks with a lot of value-add items and programs," he told trucksales.com.au.

"They'll be released in the first quarter of 2015 and they're going to be fitted out very nicely. From an appearance point of view they're going to have some additional body items, some safety items, and a range of additional features."

The Black Edition concept is not new – Mercedes-Benz has unveiled a number of up-spec Black Edition variants over the years, including the Actros Black Edition 1861 pictured, a limited-edition model revealed in 2005.

Mr Whitford said the Black Edition release will inch the Australian market closer to the next generation of Mercedes-Benz trucks.

"It'll be a part of our transition to the new truck range," he said.

"There will be some pretty exciting features in amongst it [the Black Edition range] that I can't reveal right now, but inside of the next two to three months we'll have some news on those."

Mr Whitford said the first of the next generation of Mercedes-Benz trucks will be reaching our shores at the end of 2014, when they'll begin an exhaustive test period ahead their official release.

"We're going to be releasing 15 new trucks in the Australian market and they'll be here towards the end of this year," he said.

"Those trucks will be running for up to two years in a range of market segments to ensure we're absolutely confident they suit the market. We expect them to land in December and I'd suggest they'd be on the road in January, and then running for up to two years before we have a full release."

The announcement signifies Australia's Mercedes-Benz truck customers are nearing the end of a long wait; the new fourth-generation Actros (range pictured under bridge) – the flagship of the range – was first unveiled in mid-2011, and has been available in Europe since 2012.

"Mercedes-Benz had to make sure it had the product right before it released it internationally," Mr Whitford said.

"What I can tell you is that we will be one of the first international markets outside of the core European markets to see the new range of trucks."

Mr Whitford said the new range will benefit from an entirely different product strategy in this country.

"There will be quite a lot of press around those trucks because it's a significant change in our mindset and approach," he said.

"This [the new approach] will revolutionise the way Mercedes-Benz actually releases trucks in Australia and the way we specify them. I've introduced a product committee that includes a number of people from within the industry – we've got customers providing us with feedback, we've got our dealer network represented, and we've also got people internally.

"We're looking at the industry and the market segments we want to sit within and we're actually specifying and building trucks to put into those market segments here in Australia. In the past we've been handed trucks and we've had to find where we'll put them.

"We're looking at our market as a stand-alone market, not just an add-on."

Mercedes-Benz to unveil Black Edition range

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