Daimler Truck Southern Africa is advancing the heavy truck industry sustainably by offering a range of vehicles, including Euro III & V models, battery electric trucks, and those designed for the PBS smart truck initiative. The Actros 3358LS/33 PBS model features multiple safety and efficiency enhancements, including autonomous braking and predictive powertrain control, improving safety, fuel economy, and productivity while minimizing environmental impact. The initiative aims to reduce traffic congestion and enhance operational efficiency for heavy trucks in South Africa.

1. Moving the heavy truck industry forward sustainably
Date: 12 September 2024

2. Daimler Truck Southern Africa
Introduction
• Duncan Prince
• Unimog and Specialised Heavy Trucks at
Daimler Truck Southern Africa
• 25th year with Daimler Truck, have worked with
Western Star, Freightliner, Fuso and Mercedes-
Benz brand vehicles, mostly in the mining,
agriculture, abnormal loads, all-wheel drive
vehicles and other niche segments such as PBS.

3. Daimler Truck Southern Africa
Daimler Truck Southern Africa (DTSA) initiatives helping move the heavy
truck industry sustainably forward in South Africa are:
• A model range comprising both Euro III & V
variants as standard, that offer both excellent fuel
economy, as well as producing engine emissions
far below national legislated limits.
• A range of battery electric vehicles for short haul
distribution in urban environments from a 3-ton
rigid to a 25-ton payload truck tractor.
• Four truck models intended specifically for the
Performance Based Standard (PBS) Smart Truck
initiative, offering exceptional productivity, fuel
economy and enhanced safety, as well as reduced
environmental footprint.

4. Daimler Truck Southern Africa
Mercedes-Benz range Arocs and Actros models focussed specifically on
the PBS Smart Truck initiative in South Africa are:
• Arocs 3352/45 for the timber industry.
• Actros 3352S/33 for the regional on-off road, side tipper market.
• Actros 3352LS/33 Pure for the long-haul side tipper market.
• Actros 3358LS/33 PBS which has been built as the ultimate PBS/Smart
Truck platform in-terms of local regulation.

5. Daimler Truck Southern Africa
DTSA initiatives focussed specifically on the PBS/Smart Truck industry
in South Africa are intended to dovetail with the objectives of the PBS
Smart Truck project and RTMS:
• The premium specification built for purpose Actros 3358LS/33 PBS
model demonstrates the progress made towards achieving these
objectives:
• From a safety perspective which is a cornerstone of project this
truck is fitted with seven active safety features above and beyond
what is required by law:
• A noteworthy feature is Active Brake Assist, an autonomous
braking feature using radar and a camera. It first warns the driver
and then automatically brakes the combination if the driver takes
no action when another vehicle or object is stopped in the path of
the moving vehicle. The system also has the ability to detect and
brake for pedestrians at speeds of up to 50km/h.
Mercedes-Benz Actros 3358LS/33 PBS
6x4 Truck Tractor

6. Daimler Truck Southern Africa
Smart Truck and RTMS relevant features:
• On the topic of safety and fatigue management, this vehicle offers both
Lane Keeping Assist and Attention Assist to warn the truck driver when
they start exhibiting behaviour typical of a fatigued driver, so that the driver
is given a clear message when it is time to take a break.
• From an efficiency perspective, the Actros 3358LS/33 PBS truck tractor
vehicle is fully capable of hauling a 50 ton payload at 73.5ton GCM on
National routes at the same average speed as a run of the mill 450 hp
56ton GCM interlink combination moving only 34 tons.
• There is the very significant benefit that this combination is no slower than
the rest of the heavy vehicle traffic on the highway, and thus does not
bottleneck or obstruct the flow of traffic. Thus, the vehicle is for all intents
completely inconspicuous to the public at large versus other heavy vehicles
on the road.
• The high average speed also serves to helps lessen the likelihood of rear
end collisions and speaks to reducing driver fatigue.

7. Daimler Truck Southern Africa
Smart Truck and RTMS relevant features:
• From an environmental perspective the Actros 3358LS/33 PBS
offers the obvious benefit of there being fewer trucks on the
road due to the higher payload capacity. Less traffic
congestion is likely given the vehicle’s high performance both
up and down hill.
• The truck uses hypoid axles, a very robust overdrive
transmission and an optimised final drive ratio to offer
significantly better fuel consumption per ton hauled than a
standard 56ton interlink combination.
• The already impressive built in excellent fuel economy is
enhanced by the feature called Predictive Powertrain Control
which uses GPS and a 3D map system which adapts the
retarding system and gear shifting while in cruise control to
optimise vehicle performance for the prevailing terrain. The
system plans the drivetrain management for up to 2km
ahead, further improving fuel consumption by making best
use of the vehicles kinetic energy and momentum.

8. Daimler Truck Southern Africa
Smart Truck and RTMS relevant features:
• To help address adherence to the maintenance
requirements of the RTMS program, our
standard telematics system called FleetBoard
with a five-year free subscription will alert both
the driver and fleet-controller when a vehicle
needs routine maintenance ensuring that there
is a way of actively managing vehicle
maintenance.
• Driver behaviour, vehicle location record, and
fuel consumption on an on-going basis are also
logged.

9. Daimler Truck Southern Africa
A big thank you to the audience for your attention and
thank you to Oliver Naidoo of JC Auditors and Harry van
Huyssteen of Transport Forum for providing the platform
and arranging the event.