OREANDA-NEWS.  March 15, 2011. Mercedes-Benz Truck Vostok has officially opened a production line in Naberezhnye Chelny. KAMAZ and Daimler took another step to strengthen their strategic partnership.

The Russian-German joint venture was set up at the beginning of 2010. It became the general importer of all products of the concern to Russia. During the year, engineers of the JV were trained in Germany; the enterprise purchased and mounted original equipment enabling to assemble almost 4,500 vehicles a year. The first Mercedes trucks assembled in Naberezhnye Chelny were delivered to customers in August 2010. The assembly line was launched on the 30th of September. The partners have recently signed an agreement on industrial assembly.

The first truck produced at the JV is the Mercedes-Benz Actros 1841 LS, the leading international carrier of the German brand. This is a long-haul truck tractor designed to operate as a part of a combination 44 t GVW. The vehicle is equipped with a V-shaped 6-cylinder engine (408 h.p. and 2,000 nm). High-tech electronic systems and the “Mercedes PowerShift” 12-speed transmission, and also a cab equipped with a conditioner, a night hot-air heater, a cooler, and two comfortable berths make the Actros 1841 LS one of the safest, easiest to use, most comfortable trucks in a segment of long-haul and international traffic.

The model range of vehicles which will be assembled at the Mercedes-Benz Trucks Vostok plant in Russia will be expanded in the future. In 2011, the JV will start assembling updated Mercedes-Benz Axor and Atego models which were presented at the IAA 2010 exhibition of commercial vehicles in Hannover in September 2010. Then, with an increase in sales volumes, production of special-purpose trucks of the German manufacturer – Mercedes-Benz Zetros and Unimog – will be started up.

Trucks assembled in Russia will be of the highest quality like their analogues produced at the plants in Germany. Mercedes-Benz has been organizing vehicle assembly in 50 countries for over 40 years.

OOO Mercedes-Benz Trucks Vostok also plans to expand a dealer network and a network of authorized service partners. Mercedes-Benz realized trucks via 20 official dealer centers in the largest regions of Russia. Competent maintenance is provided by 32 authorized service centers.