A next generation Mercedes-Benz truck is heading up a road train in the Australian outback as part of an extensive testing regime for the new model.

Mercedes-Benz is committed to test the next generation Actros family, with up to 17 evaluation vehicles working hard on customer fleets across New Zealand and Australia ahead of the launch late next year.

The new generation truck has been engineered from the ground up with a focus on whole of life cost, comfort and driving dynamics and features all-new components.

The latest evaluation truck to hit the road is an Arocs 2663LS, the extreme version of the next generation model, and is being run by Perth-based operator Matic Transport.

It has just started working as a road train transporting cement powder from Perth’s Cockburn cement works to the Wheatstone gas project near the Pilbara town of Onslow, which represents a 2,800km round trip.

For now, the Arocs-led road train will run a Gross Combination Mass of 110 tonnes, but Matic Transport owner, Danny (Zdenko) Matic said that would soon be raised to 150 tonnes.

“We plan to really make it work hard,” Matic said.

“This is the heaviest combination we run; it is a long route in a hot climate. You can’t get much tougher than this.”