Daimler Commercial Vehicles Mena and Mercedes-Benz Trucks have reached a major milestone with the sale of the 100,000th Mercedes-Benz Actros in the Middle East and in North Africa (Mena) region over the past 20 years.

A special event was held recently at the Regional Center of Daimler Commercial Vehicles Mena in Jebel Ali, Dubai, where the 100,000th Actros Truck was ceremonially handed over to the customer Al Khaldi from Dammam, Saudi Arabia in the presence of Dr Wolfgang Bernhard, member of the board of management of Daimler AG and head of Daimler Trucks and Buses.

Saudi Arabia is the core market in the Mena region for Mercedes-Benz Trucks, with nearly 44,000 Mercedes-Benz Actros Trucks having been delivered since 1997, said a statement from Daimler.

This result is closely linked to the successful and long lasting business relationship between Daimler and its general distributor in the kingdom, Juffali Industrial Products Company (Jipco).

The milestone truck, a 4x2 tractor-head Actros 2041S, is part of a larger 200 unit order by Al-Khaldi, who is a long-lasting customer of Mercedes-Benz and Jipco.

Al-Khaldi, which was founded in 1972, is a major player in the fields of transportation and trading of petroleum, fuel stations and equipment leasing besides distribution of cement and chemical products.

The truck, which has been assembled at National Automobile Industry Company (NAI) in Jeddah, was handed over to Al Khaldi at the event attended by Sheikh Khaled Juffali, the vice chairman of EA Juffali & Brothers (Saudi Arabia) and Roland Schneider, the president and chief executive of the Daimler Commercial Vehicles Regional Center in Dubai.

On the achievement, Dr Bernhard, said: "Our Actros is the most successful heavy-duty truck in the world. About every 10th truck has been delivered to the Mena region: this underlines the importance of the region for Mercedes-Benz Trucks."

"With our regional centre, established one year ago, we’re even closer to our customers. We can react faster to their demands. This will further improve our market share in this region," he stated.

Schneider said: "Together with our strong and trusted partner in Saudi Arabia, EA Juffali & Brothers, we are always striving to exceed our customers’ expectations towards our premium products and services."

"The 100,000th Actros sold in the region represents the symbol of our mutual success and the trust of our customers in the Actros. This milestone makes us proud and truly encourages us to continue delivering high-quality products and customer services across the region," he added.

The truck is equipped with the Mercedes Powershift automated gearshift and Fleetboard Telematics system enhancing fuel efficiency, as well as Mercedes-Benz Accessories as design elements.

Sheikh Khaled Juffali said: "We are delighted to deliver this special truck to our esteemed customer  Al Khaldi and we truly thank them for placing their trust into our premium products and customer services.”

Sheikh Hamoud Al Khaldi, the chairman of Al Khaldi, said: "We decided to extend and modernise our fleet by another 200 Mercedes-Benz Actros, which will enlarge our fleet strength to 505 Mercedes-Benz Trucks."

"Low fuel consumption, reliability and a good support were key criteria for our latest buying decision – with the Actros and Juffali we found the perfect partners," stated Al Khaldi.

The business relationship between Al Khaldi and EA Juffali & Brothers Saudi Arabia dates back to the 1970s, he added.-TradeArabia News Service