The Mercedes-Benz L 319 is a light commercial vehicle built by Mercedes-Benz between 1955 and 1968. Larger than a standard delivery van, but smaller than a conventional light truck of the period, it was the manufacturer's first model in this class. The vehicle was offered with a range of van and truck bodies. Special application and minibus (O 319) variants were also available.
Background
By 1955, Daimler-Benz was well represented in the passenger car market, and also offered commercial operators an extensive range of conventional trucks. The smallest of the trucks, offered in its then current form since 1945, was the Mercedes-Benz L 3500 range. As regards smaller commercial vehicles, during the war, Mercedes was compelled by government imposed rationalisation to manufacture the Opel Blitz truck of its leading competitor, but the company had featured no commercial vehicle of its own below the 3 tonne level since before the war. However, during the early 1950s the success of the Volkswagen panel van and rejuvenated Opel Blitz persuaded Mercedes-Benz that the category was too important to be ignored.
Launch
The van that premiered at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 1955 had a gross weight of 3.6 tonnes and a maximum load capacity of 1.6 or 1.8 tonnes according to version. A wide range of body permutations included a panel van, a standard level light truck, a low level light flat-bed truck and various increasingly diverse and elaborate types of minibus. Fire truck variants are particularly well represented among the surviving L319 to be seen in motor museums.