The Mercedes-Benz Axor has been voted commercial vehicle of the year 2005 by readers of the Finnish specialist magazine Ajolinja. Votes were cast for a total of 19 vehicles by different manufacturers in the van, truck and bus segments, and the Mercedes-Benz Axor was awarded first place.

The decisive criteria for choosing the Mercedes-Benz Axor were its low procurement costs, long service intervals, the extensive and efficient Mercedes-Benz service network, the latest safety technology, driver-friendliness and the completely redesigned cab. In addition the Axor is available in a 60-tonne version for the Nordic countries, where this weight is normal.

The Mercedes-Benz Axor 2 truck series was launched at the beginning of 2005. At the RAI international commercial vehicle fair in Amsterdam in October 2005, the Axor family, extended by "light" construction vehicles and equipped with the new BlueTec diesel technology for clean exhaust gases and a very low fuel consumption in accordance with Euro 4 and Euro 5, was introduced to the public. The "light" construction vehicles are particularly interesting for applications where a high payload is a major consideration.

With its significantly extended model range from 18 t gross vehicle weight, the new Mercedes-Benz Axor covers a much wider variety of applications than the previous range, which consisted exclusively of semitrailer tractors. The new truck is ideal for medium-distance haulage, heavy distribution and the construction sector. The Mercedes-Benz Axor is optimally suited to all applications where specialist capabilities are required, and in this regard it supplements the Actros and Atego series. In addition to two-axle semitrailer tractors the series now includes heavy, two-axle solo trucks with a gross vehicle weight of 18 t and three-axle trucks with a gross vehicle weight of 25 t. Over and above the output classes of the 900-series engines, the extended range now also adds the powerful in-line six-cylinder OM 457 LA engine already familiar from the Axor semitrailer tractors in the dropsiders for the first time.

The new Mercedes-Benz Axor is already available with Blue-Tec 4 and alternatively also BlueTec 5 technology this year, meeting the requirements of the Euro 4 standard coming into force from autumn 2006 and the Euro 5 standard coming into force from autumn 2009. At the same time this new engine technology allows considerable fuel savings to be made.