The Mercedes-Benz O 405 is a high-floor city bus built in series from 1984 to 2001. It belongs to the second generation of VÖV standard city buses and was the direct successor to the O 305.
Mercedes-Benz O 405 at a glance
| Production | 1984–2001 |
|---|---|
| Type | high-floor city bus |
| Generation | second VÖV standard generation |
| Predecessor | Mercedes-Benz O 305 |
| Direct successor | O 405 N, low floor, from 1990 |
| High-floor production ended | autumn 2001 |
| Articulated version | O 405 G |
| Gas version | O 405 CNG |
| Trolleybus | one prototype, O 405 T of 1986 |
| Related models | O 402 midibus, O 407 intercity, O 408 excursion |
| Right-hand drive | built for Britain, South Africa and Australia |
This article is based on the German Wikipedia article on the O 405. Free photographs of the O 405 were not available, so the record keeps its earlier picture.
History of the Mercedes-Benz O 405
The O 405 was the second-generation VÖV standard bus and followed the O 305. In this generation MAN also offered a standardised bus, while Magirus-Deutz and Büssing no longer competed and Neoplan joined. The O 405 proved very successful: many German operators bought it and it found numerous customers abroad, often with bodies by local builders. Its robust construction made it popular on the second-hand market too.
Its direct successor was the low-floor O 405 N, built from 1990, but the high-floor O 405 stayed in production alongside it until the autumn of 2001. From 1997 the Citaro also took over from the O 405 city bus series. Most operators have since withdrawn their O 405 buses, though a few remain in regular service, for example with the Weimarer Land transport company.
Several variants were built. The articulated O 405 G ran alongside the solo bus, and some O 405 were made to run on natural gas as the O 405 CNG. Chassis of the O 405 and O 405 G were produced in right-hand drive for Britain, South Africa and Australia. Mercedes-Benz also tested the trolleybus market, but only one O 405 T was built, a 1986 prototype with AEG electrical equipment that was tested mostly in Esslingen am Neckar, spent 1989 on loan to Salzburg and was later passed to Sarajevo. The Falkenried workshops in Hamburg built two city double-decker prototypes on the later O 405 basis in 1982; one served as a demonstration bus in Berlin until 1995 and was scrapped in 2008.
Design and features
- VÖV standard: a common specification for German operators.
- Long life: high-floor production lasted until 2001.
- Many variants: articulated, natural gas, trolleybus and right-hand drive.
- Related ranges: the O 402, O 407 and O 408 shared the family.
Mercedes-Benz O 405 versions
- O 405: the standard solo bus.
- O 405 G: the articulated version.
- O 405 N: the low-floor successor from 1990.
- O 405 CNG: natural gas drive.
- O 405 T: a single trolleybus prototype.
- O 402, O 407 and O 408: midibus, intercity and excursion relatives.
The O 405 followed the O 305 and was replaced by the Citaro; its low-floor version came before that. More in the Mercedes-Benz collection.
Video: Mercedes-Benz O 405 N sound
Video by YouTube on YouTube.
Sources
- Mercedes-Benz O 405, German Wikipedia: production, variants, successors, prototypes
