Daimler To Build Medium-duty Diesels in Detroit

Daimler – parent company of brands such as Mercedes-Benz, Freightliner, Cascadia, Western Star, and others – will begin producing medium-duty diesel engines in Detroit, Michigan as of 2018. The production plant has begun local series production of the DT12 automatic transmission for the North American market – a transmission used in many commercial vehicles in the Daimler family.

After the initial $100 million investment in the Detroit plant to begin DT12 production, Daimler Trucks is now beginning an investment that will total $375 in order to begin producing DD5 and DD8 diesel engines there. These are four- and six-cylinder engines, respectively, which used shared components in their manufacture.

The DD5 and DD8 engines are part of the Medium Duty Engine Generation family Daimler developed in Germany for the European market in order to comply with new Euro VI emissions requirements. They will beat the requirements of GHG17 in North America, part of the NAFTA accord, as well.

Aaron Turpen
An automotive enthusiast for most of his adult life, Aaron has worked in and around the industry in many ways. He is an accredited member of the Rocky Mountain Automotive Press (RMAP), the Midwest Automotive Media Association (MAMA), the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA), and freelances as a writer and journalist around the Web and in print. You can find his portfolio at AaronOnAutos.com.