Mercedes-Benz Actros

The Actros is the truck Mercedes-Benz Trucks offers for what it calls heavy-duty distribution transport. Its international “All models” page lists the Actros under Distribution, beside the Atego, and lists the Actros L, the Actros F and the Actros L up to 500 tonnes under Long distance. The Actros has a product page of its own, headed “The solid one”, and a product sheet of its own: Mercedes-Benz Trucks UK’s downloads page lists a sheet called “Actros” beside a separate one for the “Actros L with ProCabin”. The product page describes the Actros’s cab as compact and lightweight, giving “more payload”, and “especially bodybuilder-friendly”; the product sheet names car transporters, silo trucks and tankers among its uses.

This page follows the international product page as read on 11 October 2026, whose engine and cab data carry a modification date of 26 August 2026, with the GB and German versions of the same page, whose tables give the same figures; the GB product sheet “THE ACTROS.”, issued by Daimler Truck UK Marketing with an imprint dated February 2025 (PDF of 20 March 2025); and the Turkish page “Dağıtım taşımacılığında Actros” (“Actros in distribution haulage”) with Mercedes-Benz Türk’s release of 26 March 2026. The earlier generations come from Daimler Truck releases of 12 November 2021 and 8 May 2026 and from Mercedes-Benz Trucks’ anniversary and IAA 2026 pages.

Overview and generations

Mercedes-Benz Trucks dates the Actros from its premiere at the IAA Commercial Vehicles show in 1996, a launch Daimler Truck’s release of 12 November 2021 says was timed “to celebrate the 100th birthday of the truck” invented by Gottlieb Daimler in 1896. That release counts five Actros generations and lists what each brought: the Actros 1 an electronic brake system (EBS), fully automated gear shifting, a CAN bus and the MegaSpace cab with a level floor; the Actros 2 adaptive cruise control, Active Brake Assist, Lane Keeping Assist, the PowerShift transmission and a new stowage concept; the Actros 3 a light and rain sensor, a further-developed Active Brake Assist and an updated PowerShift; the Actros 4 a new engine generation with Euro VI specification, the GPS cruise control Predictive Powertrain Control, a further-developed PowerShift, Active Brake Assist 4 with pedestrian detection and Sideguard Assist; and the Actros 5, available since 2018, four world premieres — Active Drive Assist, described as the first assistance system in the world for semi-automated driving (Level 2) to go into series production, Active Brake Assist 5 with full-stop braking in response to moving persons, MirrorCam as standard in place of the exterior mirrors, and a multimedia cockpit with two large colour displays. The same release called the Actros L, introduced that year, “the showpiece of the latest Actros generation”.

Daimler Truck’s release of 8 May 2026, for the model’s 30th anniversary, puts Actros sales since 1996 at “well over 1.5 million”. Its picture captions date the launch of the second generation to 2003 and the “new Actros” to 2011, and its text says that “the new Actros from 2011 onward” brought Euro VI engine technology, GPS-based driving strategies and a newly designed driver workplace, and that from 2018 systems such as MirrorCam, Active Drive Assist and a fully digital cockpit followed. It describes the current Actros L as “the continuous development of the diesel truck within the Actros model range”. Mercedes-Benz Trucks’ IAA 2026 page for an Actros 1851 LS built in 2011 calls that truck “Job No.1”, the first vehicle of the new generation to leave the production line in Wörth. No document opened gives a launch year for the third generation: a caption in the 2026 release applies “third generation” to an Actros 1860 LS of model year 2018, while the IAA 2026 page for an Actros 1855 LS Black Liner built in 2011 calls it a special edition of “the third-generation Actros”.

Mercedes-Benz Trucks’ “30 years of Actros” page adds that the first generation’s MegaSpace cab had a flat floor and a continuous ceiling height of 1.92 metres, and that its Telligent braking system, with electronically controlled disc brakes as standard, reduced braking distances “by almost 30 %”; it dates Active Brake Assist in the Actros to 2006 and Predictive Powertrain Control to 2012. The product sheet gives the current truck the model designation 963, left- or right-hand drive, in 20 different versions; the product page, the product sheet and the Turkish page give it no generation number.

Cabs

The product page lists twelve cab variants: StreamSpace, ClassicSpace and CompactSpace L-Cabs, ClassicSpace and CompactSpace M-Cabs and a ClassicSpace S-Cab, each with a 170 mm or a 320 mm engine tunnel, all 2,300 mm wide. The GB product sheet gives the same families — ClassicSpace in S, M and L, CompactSpace in M and L, StreamSpace in L only — at a cab width of 2.30 m, an engine tunnel of 320 mm or 170 mm and a headroom of “up to 1.79 m”. The product page’s figures:

The product page calls the first headroom figure “Headroom between the seats” for the L-Cabs and “Headroom above engine tunnel” for the M- and S-Cabs. The product sheet’s table, which heads that column “headroom between the seats” for every row, gives the same figures with two differences: 1,460 mm for the ClassicSpace M-cab with the 170 mm tunnel, and a tenth row labelled “CompactSpace L–cab” with the 170 mm tunnel, an exterior length of 2,000 mm and headrooms of 1,065 mm and 1,400 mm — the figures the product page gives for the CompactSpace M-Cab with the 320 mm tunnel, which has no row of its own on the sheet.

The product page describes seats that “regulate temperature” (the product sheet’s “climate-controlled seats”) and names an optional ExtraLine equipment package for “an individual appearance”. It lists no cab wider than 2,300 mm. Two other Actros documents list 2,500 mm cabs, the tipper-semitrailer page and the Turkish page, both set out below. How cab lengths, roof heights and engine tunnels differ is explained in truck cabs explained.

Engines

The product page gives fifteen ratings in four six-cylinder engine families, every one marked “Euro 6e/6e+” as standard:

The international and GB pages label the OM 470 rows “2nd generation” and the OM 471 rows “3rd generation”; the German page gives the same figures and labels both “Motorengeneration Powerliner”. The product page’s drivetrain passage says that with the “Powerliner” engine generation the OM 470 has lower fuel consumption and “an improved torque characteristic”. The passage links to Mercedes-Benz Trucks’ Powerliner page, whose fuel figure is based on a Powerliner Actros L and its predecessor. What the rated-speed and torque columns describe is explained in reading truck power figures.

The GB product sheet of February 2025 gives a different list, in kilowatts and horsepower only:

The OM 936 and OM 473 steps match the product page. The OM 470 and OM 471 steps do not: the sheet’s 240, 290 and 315 kW OM 470 and its 350, 375 and 390 kW OM 471 are not on the product page, and the page’s 300 kW OM 470 and its 365 and 400 kW OM 471 are not on the sheet. The Turkish page’s table has the sheet’s power steps and gives torque figures for them; it is set out under the Turkish market below.

Transmission

The product page and the product sheet name the transmission as PowerShift Advanced; the page says the Actros has “an efficient drivetrain thanks to PowerShift Advanced”, and the Turkish page says “PowerShift”. None of the three gives a gearbox designation, a number of gears or a ratio. Predictive Powertrain Control, which the product page lists among the Actros’s standard features, uses a satellite-based system and 3D maps to identify the route and “adjusts the gear sequence to the upcoming driving situation”; the page credits it with up to 5% less fuel than models without it, and the sheet adds that it works “on winding roads and at roundabouts too”. The page also mentions “intelligent driving programmes” without naming them.

Axles, suspension and brakes

The product page lists seven wheel formulas, each with Mercedes-Benz Trucks’ own description:

• 4×2 — two-axle vehicle with a driven rear axle and differential lock.
• 6×2/2 VLA — three-axle vehicle with a rigid leading axle (optionally with 17.5” or 22.5” tyres) and a driven rear axle with differential lock.
• 6×2/4 NLA — three-axle vehicle with a driven rear axle with differential lock and a second rear axle as a steered trailing axle.
• 6×2/4 VLA — three-axle vehicle with a steered leading axle, a driven rear axle and differential lock.
• 6×2 ENA — three-axle vehicle with a driven rear axle with differential lock and a single-tyred, rigid trailing axle.
• 6×2 DNA — three-axle vehicle with a rigid leading axle (optionally with 17.5” or 22.5” tyres) and a driven rear axle with differential lock.
• 6×4 — three-axle vehicle with two driven rear axles, a longitudinal lock and two transverse locks.

The product sheet’s list reads “4x2, 6x2, 6x4, 6x2/2, 6x2/4”. No Actros document opened gives axle ratings, suspension or brake specifications for the current truck. The notation is explained in axle configurations explained.

Dimensions and weights

The product sheet gives permissible gross vehicle weights of 18 t, 24 t, 25 t, 26 t and 33 t, without saying which version carries which. No Actros document opened gives a gross combination weight, a vehicle length, height, wheelbase or turning circle, a kerb weight, or a fuel or AdBlue tank capacity; the cab dimensions are in the table above. The difference between the two weight ratings is explained in gross vehicle and gross combination weight.

Safety and driver-assistance systems

The product page’s safety section opens by naming Active Brake Assist 6 and Active Sideguard Assist 2 as systems giving “extra safety in city traffic”, then describes seven systems, with Active Brake Assist 6 Plus and Active Sideguard Assist 3 among them:

• Active Brake Assist 6 Plus — Mercedes-Benz Trucks says it already fulfils the AEBS (Advanced Emergency Braking System) legislation that will come into force in September 2028, and credits its 270-degree sensor fusion with greater accident prevention for vehicles up to 90 km/h and for pedestrians and cyclists up to 60 km/h; the system also indicates when it is not yet fully active. A footnote marks it as standard in the EU for certain vehicle configurations, and with special equipment S2J the option of deactivating it can be disabled.
• Active Sideguard Assist 3 — the third generation, whose sensors monitor the driver’s and the passenger’s side and the area in front of the vehicle and can detect oncoming road users at speeds up to 120 km/h, which the page says can help when turning on the passenger side and on the driver side; it can initiate automated braking at vehicle speeds up to 20 km/h. Standard in the EU for certain vehicle configurations.
• Frontguard Assist — monitors the area in front of the vehicle at speeds up to 15 km/h, for example when stationary, moving off or at junctions, and gives a two-stage hazard warning when it detects moving objects such as people; standard in the EU for certain vehicle configurations.
• Attention Assist 2 — records the driver’s visual attention, from the viewing angle, and level of fatigue with an integrated camera and warns visually and acoustically; “All data remains inside the vehicle”.
• Active Drive Assist 3 — special equipment, available only together with Servotwin steering, Proximity Control Assist, Active Brake Assist 6 Plus, Stability Control Assist and Multimedia Cockpit Interactive 2; it combines automatic proximity control, including stop-and-go in traffic jams, a Lane Keeping Assist and an Emergency Steering function that can steer the truck back into its own lane if there is a risk of collision when changing lanes, and its hands-off warning can initiate controlled emergency braking if the driver does not react.
• Proximity Control Assist — can monitor the distance to the vehicle in front and adjust the speed automatically; Predictive Powertrain Control can regulate the distance to use momentum phases.
• Active Cross Traffic Assist — camera and radar sensors at the front, corners and sides, in 270° sensor fusion, detect crossing vehicles at speeds up to 120 km/h; the system warns on the side concerned, can brake partially and, if the driver does not respond, can trigger automated full braking.

The product sheet of February 2025 names “the latest version of Active Brake Assist”, Active Sideguard Assist 2, which it describes for turning off to the left and as able to intervene by braking the vehicle, Active Drive Assist 3 and “the new Front Guard Assist”. The Turkish page’s safety section opens with Active Brake Assist 6 Plus and Active Sideguard Assist 2 and then gives the same seven descriptions. Which systems EU rules require on new trucks, and from when, is set out in mandatory driver assistance systems.

Equipment and options

The product page describes a Multimedia Cockpit, interactive, with a 12.3-inch instrument cluster and an infotainment system with a 10.2-inch Multi-Touch-Display, both operated from the multifunction steering wheel with touch control buttons, and two MirrorCam displays on the A-pillars; the product sheet names it Multimedia Cockpit Interactive 2 and marks it “Available from 06/25”. MirrorCam replaces the conventional mirrors, and the page credits it with improved aerodynamics and up to 1.3% lower fuel consumption; a footnote says it is not for vehicles with ADR classes EX and FL. The page lists Predictive Powertrain Control, MirrorCam and the Multimedia Cockpit, interactive, as standard features, and describes a Mercedes-Benz Trucks navigation system with dynamic route guidance and Live Traffic Information. Its applications section names car transporters, silo trucks and tankers, with pictures captioned “Tanker truck” and “Beverage body with lifting platform”.

Mercedes-Benz Trucks lists service contracts, its workshop network and the round-the-clock Mercedes-Benz Trucks Service24h; the Mercedes-Benz Trucks Complete contract runs for up to 96 months or 1 million km. The digital services named are Mercedes-Benz Trucks Uptime, Fleetboard, TruckLive and the My TruckPoint customer portal; the GB page gives TruckLive free for 36 months after registration, and free beyond that for customers of Fleetboard Paid Services or of a Mercedes-Benz Trucks service contract. The international page gives a 12-month warranty with unlimited mileage for the complete vehicle and an extended warranty of 36 months for parts of the drivetrain — parts groups in the engine, transmission, drive shafts and drive axles — up to 450,000 km depending on the type of use.

Road-oriented Actros tipper semitrailer

A separate Mercedes-Benz Trucks page describes a “road-oriented Actros tipper semitrailer”, with which, it says, “you combine the efficiency of the Actros with the robustness of the Arocs”; it calls it a specialist in bulk material transport, “made for the road and optimised for your tasks on construction sites”. It lists one wheel formula, a 4×2 with a driven rear axle and differential lock, optionally with Hydraulic Auxiliary Drive (HAD), which puts up to 450 bar of hydraulic pressure on the front axle; the page gives HAD as up to 350 kg lighter than an optionally engageable all-wheel drive, with fuel savings of up to 6% against a vehicle with an optionally engageable all-wheel drive and up to 8% against a permanent all-wheel drive. It describes a front axle with increased ground clearance, steel bumper corners and a large slope angle, and an OM 471 paired with the direct-gear transmission G 291 and a longer rear axle ratio. Its engine table has only the OM 470 and OM 471 rows of the distribution page, with the same figures. Its cab list adds a BigSpace L-Cab and a StreamSpace L-Cab, both 2,500 mm wide and 2,300 mm long with a 120 mm engine tunnel, with headrooms of 1,870 mm and 1,850 mm between the seats and 1,910 mm and 1,830 mm in front of them, to the 2.3 m L- and M-Cabs, and lists no S-Cab.

The Actros in Turkey

The Turkish page “Dağıtım taşımacılığında Actros”, published by Mercedes-Benz Trucks Türkiye with Mercedes-Benz Türk as provider, names distribution, haulage, ADR transport and public-sector work among the Actros’s uses, with pictures captioned as a tanker tractor and a beverage body with lifting platform. It describes a PowerShift transmission and a Euro VI engine, a Multimedia Radio Touch wide screen and the Multimedia Cockpit Interactive 2 with its secondary display, and the same seven wheel formulas and seven assistance systems as the international page. It gives the complete vehicle a 24-month warranty with unlimited kilometres.

Its cab list carries the same twelve 2.3 m variants and, ahead of them, a “ProCabin-Stream” option 2,500 mm wide and 2,395 mm long, with 1,970 mm of headroom between the seats and 1,830 mm in front of them; the page says ProCabin is offered “on selected models” (“seçili modellerde”). Its economy paragraph credits a new design with an 80 mm longer front grille (“ön panjur”) with fuel savings of up to 3%. Mercedes-Benz Türk’s release of 26 March 2026, on its 2026 model year, introduces the new ProCab cab design on two models it names Actros L, the Actros L 3248 and the Actros L 3251 Plus, and describes the ProCabin as saving up to 3% fuel through lower air resistance, with a 2.5 metre wide StreamSpace cab. The same release raises the Actros 3242 L ADR 8x2 from 320 to 420 hp through a change of engine family; the Turkish page’s list of wheel formulas has no 8x2.

The Turkish page’s engine table lists 23 ratings, with an OM 471 of the 3rd and of the 2nd generation given identical figures:

The table gives maximum torque at 1,200–1,600 rpm for the OM 936 and at 1,100 rpm for the other families, and marks every rating “Euro 6e/6e” as standard. It prints 1,800 Nm for both the 265 kW and the 335 kW OM 470. The table also records a 200 Nm torque increase: in 12th gear as standard on the 310, 330 and 350 kW OM 471 of both generations, and in 7th to 11th gear as special equipment on the 330 kW and as standard on the 350 kW OM 471 of the 3rd generation. Its footnotes apply the torque increase to model 963 platform trucks and tractors in 4x2 and 6x2, and say that the 2nd-generation OM 471 (M5B) is available only with the Euro V (M5Y) or Euro IV (M5X) engine version. Mercedes-Benz Türk’s release of 5 December 2025 says that its Aksaray truck plant, in operation since 1986, builds the Actros and Arocs models.

Source notes

Mercedes-Benz Trucks lists the Actros under Distribution and the Actros L, Actros F and Actros L up to 500 tonnes under Long distance. The engine rows are the international product page’s table; the GB product sheet of February 2025 lists OM 470 outputs of 240, 265, 290, 315 and 335 kW and OM 471 outputs of 310, 330, 350, 375 and 390 kW instead, in kW and hp only. No Actros document opened gives a gross combination weight; the product sheet gives permissible gross vehicle weights of 18, 24, 25, 26 and 33 t and model designation 963 in 20 different versions. The twelve cab variants on the product page are all 2,300 mm wide, with a 170 mm or 320 mm engine tunnel; for the ClassicSpace M-cab with the 170 mm tunnel the product sheet gives 1,460 mm of headroom where the product page gives 1,310 mm. The Turkish page adds a 2,500 mm wide ProCabin-Stream cab offered on selected models, and an engine table with other OM 470 and OM 471 steps.