Testing for African conditions

By Colin Windell

 

It has been 10 years since Mercedes-Benz Trucks opened its state-of-the-art Development and Testing Centre (EVZ) in Wörth am Rhein and the company now plans to invest another 50-million euros in the center of competence.

The EVZ is a centre of competence for the development work of Mercedes-Benz Trucks and plays an important role on the road to connected, automated and electric driving. It has numerous rough-road tracks and different roadway profiles that replicate the roads of this world. In this way, the center is able to provide the same conditions for the test vehicles as are found in South America, South Korea, Africa and Europe.

An additional office and workshop building, a new building housing test benches, as well as parking for test vehicles will be built on the premises of the development grounds in Wörth by 2020. At present, some 200 employees from Vehicle Testing and related test units are working in the EVZ. Once the expansion is completed, it is expected that about 350 employees will be working there.

Mercedes-Benz Trucks is consistently driving ahead with the continued development of the Wörth location by expanding the development activities and will bring state-of-the-art and pioneering technologies in the area of development to the location on the Rhine River. By pooling the development activities in Wörth, the largest assembly plant of Mercedes-Benz Trucks further gains in importance in the global production network and offers additional attractive jobs at the location that are secure in the long term.

Furthermore, the EVZ comprises the break-in track with inclinations of up to 49%, which can be used for functional testing. In addition, the EVZ offers office, workshop and service spaces, which also house the test benches for truck component  and other testing.