A method for manufacturing a wheel axle for a utility vehicle such as a trailer, semitrailer, or
truck, wherein the wheel axle comprises a hollow axle body having a steel tubular wall of thickness t and a clamping region adapted to be clamped between clamping components of a vehicle suspension by means of a tensioning device during use. An
interlocking recess is formed in the clamping region. The
interlocking recess is formed by a forming process in which a die member is pressed into the outer surface of the tubular wall to form a recess. The die dimensions and pressing force are such that the
surface pressure on the
stamping surface portion of the tubular wall locally exceeds the yield point to form the recess, and the pressing force causes the tubular wall portion adjacent to the
interlocking recess to plastically recess inward by a distance that corresponds at most to the thickness t of the tubular wall. Preferably, the inward recess distance is in the range of 0 to 0.5 times the thickness t of the tubular wall. In an alternative method, the interlocking recess is formed by friction drilling a
blind hole in the tubular wall of the axle body.