John Williams, managing director of Felixstowe container haulier Maritime Transport, says Mercedes-Benz should turn its high-end Actros tractor unit into a stand-alone premium brand. He draws parallels with Toyota's Lexus and says it would help boost Actros's residual values, which he describes as "rubbish". "Mercedes has a fantastic vehicle in the Actros, but it has rubbish residual values. It should be more discerning about whom it supplies the tractor to rather than looking for big customers,"
he says.
"At the top end, Mercedes needs a different way of handling artic tractors - perhaps a separate brand like Toyota has done with Lexus. Scania has been successful in creating a premium brand - it is getting the right product out there and understanding who it should be selling it to." He says a dealer network that predominantly concentrates on artics or heavy rigids for the hire and reward sector is important for Maritime, not least from the point of view of maintenance reliability. "I want to be able to send a driver to the dealer at 4am knowing that the dealer or workshop has serviced or fixed the vehicle and it's spick and span for the driver to take away.
"Otherwise you run the risk of the artic getting mixed up in a large range of vehicles from rental companies or builders and plumbers getting their van serviced. The pressure isn't the same for these businesses and the demands aren't as high. If one of our drivers is kicking his heels at 4am, it's a disaster."
The company has just taken delivery of 20 new Euro 5 Actros tractors. Williams is also ambivalent about any potential tie-up between Scania and MAN following VW's purchase of the Swedish marque. "We want choice at the top end of the market. If Scania loses its independence, then it's one less manufacturer for us to choose from."
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