Mercedes-Benz Axor 2533L chassis, now available with Allison 3200 fully automatic transmission, offers a versatile truck for multiple applications including refuse collection and municipal services.
Allison Transmission, the world's largest manufacturer of automatic transmissions and hybrid propulsion systems for medium and heavy commercial vehicles, displayed a Mercedes-Benz Axor 2533L chassis, equipped with the Allison 3200 transmission, on its stand at the biennial TECMA, the International Town Planning and Environment Exhibition (June 12-15.Feria de Madrid) inSpain. This was the first public showing of the vehicle with the Allison transmission release.
The Allison stand featured cutaway 2000 and 3000 Series transmissions, the most commonly used fully automatic transmissions in cleaning and refuse collection applications. An Allison 3200 model was also displayed in the Mercedes-Benz Axor 2533L chassis equipped with its 240kW engine, a highly anticipated solution for the municipal services sector.
Allison fully automatic transmissions are accepted worldwide in the municipal sector and are gaining popularity among those municipalities that aim to modernise their fleet in a quest for greater productivity. This was confirmed at TECMA byTrond Johansen, Allison Transmission's MarketDevelopment Manager inSpain, "Nowadays, the refuse collection and other municipal services sectors are more and more demanding. They require high performance and the most reliable and robust vehicles to operate economically and efficiently over long working days and under intensive driving, including continuous stops and starts on urban routes and difficult terrain, such as that encountered in landfill sites."
Allison automatic transmissions include a torque converter which protects the drivetrain and contributes to reduced fleet operating costs. Furthermore, full power shifts and torque multiplication ensures superior performance and ease of operation, resulting in higher productivity for the fleet. These benefits have generated fleet demand, encouraging manufacturers to fit their vehicles with Allison fully automatic transmissions.
"In response to Spanish market demand, truck manufacturers such as Mercedes are now extending the Allison option to vehicle models equipped with higher engine ratings. In addition, performance is further increased by the Allison torque converter which multiplies engine torque at vehicle launch. As an example of this trend, we decided to showcase this Axor chassis on our stand at TECMA," continues Johansen.
Laura Rodríguez, Sales Manager of Mercedes-Benz España, was present at TECMA to confirm this: "Here inSpain, municipalities are demanding Allison transmissions because they enable operating costs to be reduced. Furthermore, the absence of a clutch facilitates the work of drivers."
Separately, another Axor fitted with Allison was also on display at the GEESINKNORBA stand, where it generated significant interest. Cees Solinger, GEESINKNORBA's Sales Manager forSpain, said, "It is the first Axor 2533L with a side-loading body fitted with Allison. In fact, several customers are already interested in this vehicle." With respect to their clients' experience with Allison, Mr Solinger says, "All of our clients are happy with Allison automatic transmissions due to their extreme reliablity and great performance."
Overall, the new Axor 2533L automatic configuration is versatile and can be used in multiple applications, not just for refuse collection and municipal services.