Stuttgart/Redford, Michigan – In February, Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) subsidiary Detroit Diesel Corporation increased their engine-portfolio. The Detroit DD8 is built in the Detroit components plant and powers medium-duty trucks. Depending on output, the six-cylinder engine with 7.7 liter displacement releases between 260 and 350 hp. By introducing the DD8, Daimler is ahead of the competition in the rollout of its global platform-strategy for drive trains. Over the last four years, Daimler Trucks has invested around 285 million euro in the renewal of its engine portfolio in North America.
Daimler has introduced its heavy-duty truck engine-platform in 2007. In 2013 medium-duty engines were added to the strategy. Since then the amount of DTNA trucks with Detroit engines has been growing continuously. For customers in North America it used to be very common to power their commercial vehicles with engines by other brands. However, not so with Freightliner and Western Star trucks: 95 percent of customers decide on engines by Detroit. Especially as part of the integrated drive train by Detroit it offers a higher efficiency and lower maintenance costs.
Strong development of commercial vehicle market in NAFTA
At the moment sales numbers and orders of Daimler trucks in NAFTA are on a strong rise. For this year, Daimler Trucks is expecting sales number to be significantly higher than last year. In 2017, Daimler Trucks already increased sales significantly in NAFTA – they went up 13 percent to 165,012 units (PY 145,701 units). In 2017 overall, with a market share of 39.8 percent (PY 39.3 percent) in weight classes 6 to 8, Daimler Trucks was undisputed market leader in medium- and heavy-duty segments in North America.