This week’s highlight of the truck industry is the Australian Fire and Emergency Services Council or AFAC show in Melbourne and all the truck makers have reached to the Exhibition Centre with the urgency of a brigade enrolee to a fire or accident.
Last Week we previewed the offerings being displayed by Hino and Scania respectively and the week Daimler brand, Mercedes-Benz has announced that it will eb sounding the sirens at the ‘Red truck’ convention this week.
With Daimler set to be forced into divesting itself of its popular Fuso brand due to a crazy anti competition clause imposed upon it, the company is again focussing on its Mercedes-Benz Atego as a new viable alternative to the Fuso Fighter in the medium duty market.
The company has announced it will be displaying a fire-ready Atego 4×4 at AFAC26, which started earlier today (18th August) at the Convention and Exhibition Centre in the Victorian capital.
The company tells us that its Atego 4×4 features a proven off-road chassis and powertrain featuring low-range for challenging conditions, and operates as a two-wheel drive in regular driving, while the special Atego can switch to 4×4 at the touch of a button on the dashboard.
The truck is powered by Daimler’s 7.7-litre 300hp six-cylinder OM936 turbo diesel mated to a six-speed Allison 3000 P torque convertor style automatic transmission.
Mercedes-Benz said that the model on display is a crew cab, which features seating for six people, and boasts a GVM of 16-tonnes, saying that it 
would expect the Atego 4×4 to carry between 4000kg and 5000kg of water onboard, depending on the body specification.
Mercedes-Benz offers fire services and emergency response line-up with extreme capability and proven robustness, including the Atego 4×4, and its admired Unimog,
Andrew Assimo , the vice president of sales, marketing and operations for Daimler Truck Australia Pacific said that the Mercedes-Benz Trucks off-road stable is well suited to support Australian fire and emergency response agencies.
“The capability and practicality of the Atego 4×4 and Unimog is simply unmatched,” Assimo said.
“Australian emergency responders have been relying on Mercedes-Benz trucks for decades and know the advantages they deliver in the most challenging environments. We’re thrilled to show off the latest Atego 4×4 Crew Cab and the AFAC26 conference in Melbourne,” he said.
AFAC26 runs until 21 August 21.
