The Mercedes-Benz Actros has achieved a top five-star score in Euro NCAP’s latest Safer Truck tests, joining a small group of heavy goods vehicles recognised for outstanding safety performance.
Euro NCAP began rating trucks in 2024, and this year’s round of testing assessed 10 of the most widely used rigid HGVs, representing around 95% of Europe’s long-haul fleet market. Vehicles were scored across three phases of accident management: Safe Driving, Crash Avoidance, and Post-Crash Safety, as well as being eligible for an additional CitySafe label to indicate suitability for urban operations.
The Actros was previously tested in 2024, but Mercedes-Benz declined to submit vehicles at that time. For 2025, the manufacturer provided three different cab versions for independent evaluation. The lowest-rated Actros secured the maximum five stars after benefiting from enhanced safety systems and performance upgrades, a marked step up from its earlier three-star rating. Two taller variants in the Actros range – the Actros F and Actros L ProCabin – achieved four stars, primarily due to slightly reduced driver vision. However, both still earned the CitySafe award alongside the five-star model.
This places the Actros alongside the Volvo FM and FH Aero, which retained their five-star ratings from last year.
Despite accounting for fewer than 3% of vehicles on European roads, HGVs are involved in 15% of road fatalities. Crucially, the majority of casualties in such crashes are not truck occupants but car drivers, pedestrians and cyclists.
At the same time, trucks play a central role in the European economy, transporting 95% of goods consumed across the continent. Euro NCAP’s Safer Trucks programme aims to strike a balance between acknowledging this essential role and encouraging manufacturers to adopt increasingly higher safety standards.
Euro NCAP has confirmed that its next phase of truck testing, scheduled for 2028, will place greater emphasis on passive crash protection, bringing HGV safety ratings closer to the standards already applied in passenger car testing.
Matthew Avery, Director of Strategic Development at Euro NCAP, said:
“This is only the second year of our Truck Rating programme, but already we have seen meaningful improvements from some of the best-known manufacturers. Mercedes-Benz has responded positively to our first round of tests, making meaningful enhancements to its Actros range that have delivered a five-star result.
But there is still more to be done to reduce the disproportionate impact trucks have on fatal accidents. That is why Euro NCAP will continue to evolve its protocols, so that fleet operators and buyers have clear, independent information to help them choose the safest vehicles. As we know, the safest truck is also the most cost-effective one.”