East London car manufacturer Mercedes-Benz South Africa has rolled out a new vehicle, a first for the South African market.
The Mercedes-Benz Unimog U529 is specially designed to cater for the thriving agricultural sector which boasts more than 300,000 registered commercial farmers.
Manufactured in Germany, the Mercedes-Benz trucks and buses division recently launched the Unimog in Winterton in KwaZulu-Natal where they exhibited the massive workhorse – an all-wheel drive all rounder, that promises to be a game changer for agriculture due to its swift efficiency, time saving mechanism and multi-functionality.
With only one unit in the country to exhibit, the German car manufacturer said with at least 200 units purchased annually in South Africa, they would be forced to consider manufacturing the tractor, looking to use their East London manufacturing plant.
It is where they are currently manufacturing two derivatives in their trucking segment, the Actros and Fuso, while the East London plant is also known to be the home of their passenger car, the C-Class.
While it has been more than a decade since the launch of the Unimog, which previously was designed for construction and the military, a delegation of engineers said after two years of engaging with South African farmers, assessing their needs – they developed a workhorse that could deliver according to their specifications.
MBSA manager for specialised heavy duty trucks Duncan Prince said the new truck set the standard as a robust and versatile specialised truck...