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Detroit: Launch of localized series production of the DT12 automated transmission for the NAFTA market
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Future production of new DD5 and DD8 medium-duty truck engines for North America also in Detroit
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Daimler Trucks invests $475 million and announces creation of approximately 330 new jobs in Detroit
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Dr. Bernhard, Member of the Board of Management, responsible for Daimler Trucks & Buses: “This is a major step in executing our global platform strategy. The decisions we announced today will make us even more competitive tomorrow.”
Detroit – Additional power for Daimler Trucks'
business in the USA: At the plant of subsidiary “Detroit” in Redford,
Detroit (Michigan), Dr. Wolfgang Bernhard, Member of the Daimler AG
Board of Management, responsible for Daimler Trucks & Buses, today
gave the starting signal for localized series production of the DT12
automated manual transmission. At the same time Dr. Bernhard told the
assembled guests, including around 2.000 employees, that the new DD5 and
DD8 engines from the medium-duty engine family for the NAFTA market
would also be produced in Detroit effective 2018. With these steps, the
world's most successful commercial vehicle manufacturer consequently
continues to implement its global platform rollout.
One of Daimler Trucks' three strategic pillars is
the use of intelligent platforms. This means: Proven platforms and
modules like engines or transmissions are used in many different markets
with vehicle-specific adaptations – across all commercial vehicle
brands. The Daimler Trucks & Buses portfolio includes Mercedes-Benz
trucks & buses, Setra, Freightliner, Western Star, BharatBenz, FUSO,
and Thomas Built Buses. With its aggregate-brand “Detroit”, Daimler
Trucks has been offering American customers a perfectly harmonized
powertrain crafted with own engines, transmissions and axles. Having
started this business in 2012, Daimler Trucks has been the first
manufacturer in the North American market to offer an integrated
powertrain manufactured under one roof.
“The success of our integrated powertrain for
heavy-duty vehicles in the US is phenomenal: Already, over 40 percent of
the Freightliner Cascadia models are supplied with the DT12 automated
manual transmission. So, naturally, it makes sense to now also produce
this bestseller locally. We are very proud to celebrate the production
launch of the transmission with our highly motivated team here in
Detroit. And I am really excited, that in the future we will also
produce our medium duty engines DD5 and DD8 here,” said Dr. Wolfgang
Bernhard. “This is a major step in executing our global platform
strategy. The decisions we announced today will make us even more
competitive tomorrow,” continues Dr. Bernhard.
$475 million investments in new transmission and engine production
Under the theme “Built in Detroit”, Michigan's
Governor Rick Snyder and Daimler Trucks honored the production launch in
the North American industrial metropolis. Daimler Trucks has invested
$100 million in the new production of the DT12 automated manual
transmission in Detroit. For this, Daimler Trucks is creating around 170
new jobs in the local area, making a major contribution to the
revitalization of Detroit. For the development and production of the new
DD5 and DD8 engines, Daimler Trucks will additionally invest over $375
million, creating approximately 160 more jobs locally.
Founded in 1938, the “Detroit” aggregate plant in
Redford has been owned by Daimler AG since 2000. In an area covering
more than 280,000 square meters some 2200 employees produce engines,
transmissions and axles for Daimler Trucks' American commercial
vehicle-brands.
Integrated powertrain is gaining a competitive edge
In the commercial vehicle business, the
powertrain – comprising engine, transmission and axles – is a decisive
factor for both the manufacturer’s and customer’s economic success due
to its share of the added value in truck construction, which amounts to
in excess of 50 percent. Unlike in Europe, it is quite common in the
North American commercial vehicle market that the customer has third
party aggregates in their trucks. Here Daimler Trucks' global powertrain
strategy approaches successfully: The fully integrated powertrain
offers clear cost and efficiency advantages for both sides and
guarantees the lowest Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) for the hauliers.
The DT12 transmission – smartly steered by the Detroit Intelligent
Powertrain Management – achieves up to three percent better fuel
consumption compared with a conventional manual transmission. The
customers in North America are convinced. Thanks to the high demand,
Daimler Trucks has succeeded in further strengthening its position as
the market leader in the USA this year: In the first ten months of the
year, its market share grew to approximately 40 percent (Class 6-8).
DT12 automated manual transmission
The DT12 heavy-duty automated transmission used
in the Freightliner Cascadia and Western Star 5700 XE heavy-duty trucks
is extremely popular in North America. Whereas US truckers traditionally
used to shift manually, Daimler Trucks has truely revolutionized this
market with its North American truck brands Freightliner and Western
Star: By 2015 already, over 40 percent of all Freightliner Cascadia
models in the NAFTA market were sold with the DT12 transmission. With
local production of the DT12 transmission, previously sourced from the
Mercedes-Benz plant in Gaggenau / Baden, Germany, Daimler Trucks can now
respond more quickly to the rising demand in North America.
Furthermore, customers of Daimler Trucks North America benefit from
faster delivery times. Daimler Trucks continues to supply its Detroit
facility with component parts for the transmission assembly out of
Gaggenau.
New medium-duty engines
The new DD5 and DD8 engines are an additional
proof of the successful Daimler Trucks strategy of developing aggregates
for worldwide use and then adapting them locally. Both engines are from
the Medium Duty Engine Generation (MDEG), which Daimler Trucks has
developed in Germany to comply with the demanding Euro VI emissions
standard. As of their market launch in 2016, the DD5 and DD8 engines
will therefore also comply with the NAFTA standard for greenhouse gas
emissions (GHG17) a year before it comes into force. The medium-duty
four- and six-cylinder engines use standardized components such as the
cylinder head, cylinder block, connecting rods and camshaft. In the
future both engines will be used in the entire product portfolio of
Daimler Trucks North America. Up until the production launch in Detroit
scheduled for 2018, the engines will be supplied from the Mercedes-Benz
aggregate-plant in Mannheim, Germany.
Global Powertrain: Drive for growth in the commercial-vehicle business
“Our customers know that, with engines,
transmissions and axles 'built in Detroit', they get the best powertrain
components, fully integrated and perfectly harmonized,” emphasizes Dr.
Frank Reintjes, Head of Global Powertrain & Manufacturing
Engineering Trucks.
The Daimler Trucks Global Powertrain plants in
Mannheim, Gaggenau, Kassel and Detroit produce powertrain components for
the Daimler Trucks vehicles worldwide. Additionally Daimler Trucks also
manufactures aggregates at its facilities in Juiz de Fora (Brazil),
Oragadam (India) and Kawasaki (Japan). Furthermore, Global Powertrain
manufactures aggregates and components for Mercedes-Benz passenger cars
and third-party customers. In addition, the division is responsible for
production and network planning at all Daimler Trucks production sites.
About Daimler Trucks North America
Daimler Trucks North America LLC based in
Portland, Oregon, is the leading manufacturer of heavy-duty trucks in
North America. DTNA produces and sells commercial vehicles of the
Freightliner, Western Star and Thomas Built Buses brands. The DTNA
production network stretches across nine sites. In addition to the
headquarters and assembly plant in Portland (Oregon), there are four
production plants in North Carolina (Cleveland, Gastonia, High Point and
Mount Holly) plus one production plant each in Detroit (Michigan) and
Gaffney (South Carolina). DTNA has two further production plants in
Mexico (Saltillo and Santiago Tianguistenco).
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