Mercedes-Benz Econic: 25 years of innovation history with a future
In the meantime, the fully electric eEconic has replaced the natural gas engine and is rolling off the production line alongside the conventional Econic in Wörth.
Milestones in the Econic success story
The Econic was presented for the first time in 1998 at the Entsorga trade fair as an innovative low-floor special vehicle, and has been built at NAW (Nutzfahrzeuggesellschaft Arbon & Wetzikon) in Arbon on Lake Constance, Switzerland, ever since. In 2001, the Econic family was expanded to include a 6×4 variant, to which the Econic 8×4/4 with four-wheel steer and four-wheel drive was added in 2004. The Econic with a natural gas engine was introduced in 2002. The following year, production was relocated to the current Econic site in Wörth. The 5000th Econic rolled off the production line there in 2005.
In 2009, more than 1500 Econic vehicles were delivered for the first time within one year, and two years later a total of 10,000 Econic vehicles was exceeded. This was followed in 2013 by the world premiere and the start of series production of the new Econic generation, whose basic components are still in use today. A further milestone was reached in 2022 for sustainability goals: The all-electric eEconic has been added to the conventional Econic in the product range.
Around 28,000 Econic trucks have been built and delivered to date. Of these, around 85 percent are used for waste disposal and around five percent are used by fire brigade, for example as turntable ladder vehicles. A further 10 percent are used for other operations, as dump trucks or cement mixers, for example, for road construction or as refueling or catering vehicles at airports.
The latest generation of the Econic with Euro VI diesel technology
Today’s Econic is available as a two-, three- or four-axle vehicle with a permissible gross mass of 18, 26 and – in the four-axle variant – 32 tons. It is available with a low or high cab, wheelbases from 3,450 to 5,700 millimeters and engine outputs from 200 kW (272 hp) to 260 kW (354 hp). In addition to the tried-and-tested Allison torque-converter automatic transmission with six gears, the Econic can, as an option, also be equipped with the fuel-efficient Mercedes-Benz PowerShift 3 automatic transmission with 12 forward and four reverse gears, which has specially adapted drive programs for urban traffic.
If individual solutions with complex conversions for specific operations are required, they can be implemented by Mercedes-Benz Custom Tailored Trucks (CTT) on request. If necessary, the wheelbase can be shortened even further or the vehicle width can be reduced, for example.
