Leinfelden-Echterdingen / Paris – At the fair “Forum Entreprises Défense”, held in Paris on October 8 and 9, 2025, Arquus unveils the Zetros by Arquus, the result of an unprecedented partnership with Daimler Truck. This new military truck, designed for the most demanding environments, combines the robustness of Daimler Truck’s permanent 6x6 Mercedes-Benz Zetros chassis with Arquus’ expertise in militarization and systems integration.

Complementary strengths

This Franco-German industrial partnership reflects a shared ambition: to provide French and European forces with the best mobility solution — reliable, competitive, and sovereign — based on the versatile Mercedes-Benz Zetros military tactical chassis, while strengthening Europe’s Defence Industrial and Technological Base.

The truck for demanding armies

Daimler Truck has lately received orders for its Mercedes-Benz Zetros from international armed forces such as Canada, Lithuania, and Ukraine. The vehicle now also enters the French market with Arquus’ significant added value: militarization, integration of equipment and weapon systems, versatile configurations — armoured or unarmoured, for troop transport or logistics — and full support provided within French territory. Designed for severe operating conditions, the truck accommodates two crew members in the front cabin with optimal comfort and protection. It consistently delivers a payload capacity of over 6 tons, regardless of the integrations or cabin type.

Emmanuel Levacher, General Manager of Arquus: “We want French Forces to have confidence in a robust and proven military truck, with upper-end tactical performances and a high proximity to the units for In Service Support operations.”

Daniel Zittel, Head of Defence Sales at Daimler Truck: “This Zetros, developed as part of our partnership project, combines Daimler Truck’s proven vehicle platform with Arquus’ military expertise regarding equipment and protection. Together, we can provide French and European forces with a reliable vehicle that strengthens operational readiness and industrial sovereignty of our neighboring countries.”

Responsiveness through engaged teams and centres of excellence

Both companies have a strong footprint in France. As a leader in land mobility solutions and a long-standing partner of the armed forces, Arquus operates five centers of excellence in France – Limoges, Saint-Nazaire, Garchizy, Satory, and Lisses – where more than 2,000 employees are committed every day. Arquus has nearly 25,000 vehicles of all types in service with the French Army, 20,000 of which are supported by the company.

Daimler Truck assembles its defence vehicles in Wörth am Rhein, near the French border, and at its plant in Molsheim (Alsace, France). The Molsheim plant is part of Daimler Truck's industrial activities in France, which directly employs more than 3,000 people in the country. Since 2008 more than 15,000 Zetros trucks have been sold.             

Thanks to this complementarity and these strengths, the partners can rapidly scale up production, with the capacity to manufacture several hundred trucks per month. This provides the flexibility needed to address operational priorities — from urgent deployments to major defense programs.