Bibby Distribution has placed what is believed to be the largest single order for Euro-6 trucks with over 150 rigid and artic Mercedes-Benz vehicles to be delivered in 2014 and 2015.
The deal is part of a £20 million fleet renewal and expansion programme that will also see the arrival of 25 Euro-5 New Actros units before Christmas – the first Mercedes-Benz trucks to join Bibby’s fleet - and 22 18 tonne rigids in the New Year.
The Euro-6 fleet will then start to enter service, with 53 – mainly artics – arriving in 2014 and 100 more in 2015.
Bibby has also ordered 35 SDC trailers, including 19 tandem-axle 10m urban trailers and 16 tri-axle 13.7m models, and 13 new Don-Bur lifting-deck double-deck trailers.
Bibby Distribution chief executive Iain Speak said that the new vehicles were partly fleet renewal as part of its policy of replacing high mileage vehicles every two years and partly to cope with growth after winning a number of new contracts. “We are back on track and continuing to grow,” Speak said.
The decision to opt for Mercedes-Benz when taking the plunge with Euro-6 was taken after assessing the options. “Being amongst the first to introduce a fleet of Euro-6 trucks is a natural next-step for our business in early 2014; we see no reason to delay,” said Speak.
“We’ve consulted closely with other operators already running Mercedes-Benz products and we liked what we heard. Our engineering team have made detailed reliability and fuel performance comparisons with our existing vehicles and we’re confident the New Antos and New Actros will prove to be strong assets for us.”
