Mercedes-Benz Lo 2000

The Mercedes-Benz Lo 2000 was a light commercial vehicle of Daimler-Benz, built from 1932 to 1940 at the Gaggenau plant. The L stands for truck, the o for omnibus and 2000 for the payload in kilograms, so it was offered both with a truck body and with a bus body. In all, 12,253 were built, about 92 percent of them with the OM 59 diesel and the rest with the M 60 petrol engine. Shown at the Geneva motor show in March 1932, it was the first truck made in significant numbers with a diesel engine, and the cheaper fuel and lower consumption soon made the diesel the usual choice. Both engines gave 40 kilowatts, or 55 horsepower, from 3.8 litres. The Lo 2000 had a ladder frame, rigid axles on leaf springs, twin rear tyres, left-hand steering only and a flatbed of 3.5 by 2 metres in the truck version.