
Historic milestone at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Wörth: First truck produced 60 years ago
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Historic milestone at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Wörth: First truck produced 60 years ago
Wörth am Rhein - A special kind of production anniversary: exactly 60 years ago, the workforce at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Wörth assembled the first complete truck to roll off the production line there in July 1965. It was a green Mercedes-Benz LP 608. Production at the plant began almost two years earlier in October 1963 with around 100 employees. Initially, truck cabs were manufactured, which were then delivered to the…
Wörth am Rhein - A special kind of production anniversary: exactly 60 years ago, the workforce at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Wörth assembled the first complete truck to roll off the production line there in July 1965. It was a green Mercedes-Benz LP 608.
Production at the plant began almost two years earlier in October 1963 with around 100 employees. Initially, truck cabs were manufactured, which were then delivered to the plants in Gaggenau (heavy trucks) or Mannheim (medium and light trucks) for further assembly. From 1965, Wörth became the focus of commercial vehicle production at Mercedes-Benz. Complete vehicles were now assembled and delivered at the central assembly plant. The Gaggenau and Kassel sites specialized in the construction of transmissions and axles for trucks, Mannheim in engines and the production of buses.
Originally planned as a “production plant for aggregates”, the then Daimler-Benz AG had realigned its commercial vehicle strategy at the beginning of the 1960s. As part of this, production was also reorganized: The plant in Wörth was not to supply engines as originally planned, but was designated as the plant for large-scale production of all truck classes, where all production and final assembly was to take place. The Group's truck production was thus divided into aggregate production and vehicle assembly.
Even at the start of production, different model series, from the “light Wörther” to the “heavy Wörther”, ran along an assembly line - production was therefore considered extremely flexible even back then. In the more than 60 years since the start of production, more than 4.4 million trucks have been manufactured in Wörth - of which more than 800,000 are now Completely Knocked Down, vehicle kits that are shipped to numerous overseas markets for final assembly on site.
Today, the Mercedes-Benz plant in Wörth produces the Actros, Arocs and Atego models. The Mercedes-Benz Special Trucks Econic, Unimog and Zetros are also built in Wörth. Series production of the battery-electric Mercedes-Benz eActros 300/400 for distribution transport started in 2021. This was followed in 2022 by the second Mercedes-Benz eEconic electric series truck for municipal use. At the end of 2024, Daimler Truck celebrated the start of series production of the Mercedes-Benz eActros 600 for long-distance transport in Wörth.
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Historic milestone at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Wörth: First truck produced 60 years ago

Historic milestone at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Wörth: First truck produced 60 years ago

Historic milestone at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Wörth: First truck produced 60 years ago

Historic milestone at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Wörth: First truck produced 60 years ago

Historic milestone at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Wörth: First truck produced 60 years ago

Historic milestone at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Wörth: First truck produced 60 years ago

Historic milestone at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Wörth: First truck produced 60 years ago

Annika Pflüger
Spokesperson Mercedes-Benz Trucks Plants Wörth, Aksaray and Molsheim
annika.pflueger@daimlertruck.com
+49 176 30968626