The first Mercedes-Benz truck range, presented at the 1926
Berlin Motor Show (October) and at the 1927
International Motor Show for Trucks and Special Vehicles in
Cologne (May) included three basic models with the payloads of 1.5, 2.5 and 5 tons. Each model was available with a standard and a low-frame
chassis. Low chassis made sense especially that time to make easier loading and unloading of the vehicle. Also the low chassis has been used to build the buses. The models with the standard chassis were L1, L2 and L5 (L stood for Lastwagen, German word for a truck, and the digit stood for the rated payload in tons). The models with the low chassis were N1, N2 and NJ5/N5 (
N stood for , meaning
low car). The trucks were equipped with the four-cylinder petrol engines (M14, M2 and M5), developing 45HP, 55HP and 70 HP. Mercedes-Benz L1 and L2 were the new models, but Mercedes-Benz L5 truck was basically a continuation of famous Benz 5CN truck, which was developed before the merge of Benz & Cie and Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft companies. In 1927 Mercedes-Benz presented its first
diesel engine (OM5), which immediately became a sensation. It was the world's first
six-cylinder diesel engine, installed on the commercial vehicle. Also from 1927 Mercedes-Benz offered the more powerful six-cylinder
petrol engines (M16, M26 and M36) developing 50HP, 70HP and 100 HP. Four-cylinder engines were discontinued only one year later. Therefore, in 1927–1928 most of the trucks from the series L1, L2, L5 were available with four- or six-cylinder engines. To distinguish that, six-cylinder versions of the trucks were referred sometimes as, for example, L1/6 or N2/6. In 1927–1928 Mercedes-Benz also expanded the range of the truck models, adding the small model L3/4 with the payload of 750 kg (3/4 ton), which was developed from the passenger car Typ 200 Nürnberg, and a heavy three axis model N56 with a payload of 7–9 tons. The payloads of L1 and L2 models was increased with the new 6 cylinder engines from 1.5 to 1.75 tons (model L1/N1) and from 2.5 to 3.0–4.0 tons (model L2/N2). To fill the newly formed gap between L1 and L2 models, Mercedes-Benz offered new 2.5 tons model L45/N46 and (a bit later) 2.75/3.0 tons model L57/N58. Resulting diversity of the trucks made an impressive lineup of Mercedes-Benz commercial vehicles, but also required a new, better system for their designations. In fact, by the year of 1930, only the model L5 still referred to its payload (5 tons). L1 model's payload has been gradually increased up to 2 tons, L2 model's payloadup to 4 tons, and L45/N46 and L57/N58 model names were not saying about their payload at all from the beginning, but were rather the company's internal model designations. So in October 1930 a new system for the commercial vehicle designation has been introduced. Basically, instead of the one digit, standing for the rated payload in tons, a four digits number, standing for the rated payload in kg, has now been used. This number followed the same letter L for the trucks (as before), or the letters Lo (LO) for the low chassis, or the letter O for the buses (O stood for the German word Omnibus, what is translated as a bus). According to that, the model L1 was renamed to L2000, model L45 was renamed to L2500, model L57 was renamed to L3000, model L2 was renamed to L4000, model L5 was renamed to L5000 and the model N56 was renamed to L8500. This nomenclature has been used for more than 20 years, until 1954.
L1, L2, and L5 (19261932) Source:
1st generation, 4-cylinder engines (19261929) 2nd generation, 6-cylinder engines (19271931) 3rd generation (19301932) }
L3/4 and L1000 Express (19271936) Light trucks (19321941) 1st generation (19321935) 2nd generation (19351937) 3rd generation (19371941) Semitrailer tractors (19321938) Mercedes-Benz semitrailer tractor family was developed from Mercedes-Benz Lo2000-Lo3750 trucks.
L5000 (1932–1936) Heavy-duty trucks (19341939) LG and LR (19341944) LG means
Lastwagen Geländewagen (off-road truck). LR means
Lastwagen Raupenfahrzeug (caterpillar truck). The Mercedes-Benz LG65/2 and LG65/4 were experimental models.
L1100, L1500, and L2000 (19361941) The lighter L1100 family was first presented in 1936, but because of the Nazi government's Schell Plan Mercedes-Benz were forced to focus on heavier trucks; the lighter trucks were mainly built with petrol engines for the armed forces as civilians could no longer buy trucks.
L1500, L3000, and L4500 (19391944) == 1945–1960 ==