There is a historic milestone to celebrate at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Wörth: Although production began there in October 1963 with around 100 employees. Initially, truck driver cabins were produced, which were then delivered for further assembly to the Gaggenau (heavy trucks) or Mannheim (medium and light trucks) plants.
However, from 1965 onwards, Wörth was, according to the manufacturer, in focus for the production of commercial vehicles at Mercedes-Benz. The first complete vehicles were assembled and delivered from the central assembly plant –
thus, this year marks a 60-year anniversary.
The Gaggenau and Kassel locations specialized in the construction of transmissions and axles for trucks, Mannheim on engines and the production of buses.
New commercial vehicle strategy in the 1960s
According to company information, in the early 1960s, the then Daimler-Benz AG realigned the commercial vehicle strategy and reorganized production: The Wörth plant was no longer intended to supply engines, but instead to serve the mass production of all truck classes.
Thus, the entire production and
final assembly were to take place there. This was accompanied by the division of the company's truck production into component manufacturing and assembly.
Right from the start of production, different series rolled over an assembly line - from the "light Wörther" to the "heavy Wörther."
Since production started 60 years ago, according to the information, more than 4.4 million trucks have been manufactured in Wörth – of which now more than 800,000 are so-called Completely Knocked Down, that is, vehicle kits that are
sent for final assembly on-site to some overseas markets.
Currently, the Mercedes-Benz models Actros, Arocs, and Atego are produced at the Wörth plant. The Mercedes-Benz Special Trucks Econic, Unimog, and Zetros are also built there.
In 2021, serial production of the battery-electric Mercedes-Benz eActros 300/400 for distribution transport began, followed a year later by the second electric series truck Mercedes-Benz eEconic for municipal use. By the end of 2024, Daimler Truck then started serial production for the Mercedes-Benz eActros 600 for long-distance transport
