IPL invests in first Mercedes-Benz trucks

By Categories: Commercial NewsPublished On: Thursday 11 July 2013

Actros 2545 - IPL Haulage (42)Container transport specialist IPL Haulage has purchased its first Mercedes-Benz trucks, in the hope of cutting fuel costs.

The operator, which is based in Totton, Southampton, has just taken delivery from local dealer Pentagon Commercials of a pair of New Actros 2545 BigSpace tractors. The same dealer will deliver another two, identical units in January. Working alongside its New Actros are another 22 tractor units, all of which are by the manufacturer that IPL has relied on exclusively since 2004.

Pentagon supplied the operator with two New Actros demonstrators.

“I allocated one to a very good driver, and the other to a guy who’s less experienced,” recalled IPL managing director Ian Percival.

“It’s difficult to make accurate comparisons, because our work is so varied. But the good driver achieved 9.5 mpg, which is very encouraging given that our fleet average is 8.75 mpg. The second driver didn’t do quite as well but still returned 9.1 mpg, an improvement of almost 0.4 mpg.

“Having also heard positive reports from other operators, I’m optimistic that these New Actros are going to prove very economical in service,” he said.

“A little bit of competition can be very healthy,” he said. “And given that an improvement of three-quarters of a mile per gallon translates into an annual saving in diesel of around £6,000 for a single vehicle, there’s clearly all to play for as far as Pentagon and Mercedes-Benz are concerned.”