Detroit Diesel to Build New Heavy Duty Engine at Michigan Plant

From Transport Topics, MEMA Industry News

Detroit Diesel Corp. said it will build a new, heavy duty diesel engine line at the company’s Redford, Mich., manufacturing facility.

DDC also said it plans to initiate North American assembly of the MBE 900 medium-duty diesel engine at Redford. DDC intends to industrialize production of the two engine platforms at the Redford facility by 2007.

Carsten Reinhardt, president and CEO for Detroit Diesel, said the new heavy-duty truck engine — currently in development by DDC and parent company DaimlerChrysler — will be launched in 2007 and will incorporate the latest in diesel engine and emissions technology.

For a period of transition, the new engine will be sold in tandem with the popular DDC Series 60 engine. In the NAFTA market, the new engine will be installed in heavy-duty vehicles produced by the Freightliner Group and in products built by selected other DDC customers.

The MBE 900 medium-duty diesel truck engine has been available since 1998. Offered in four- and six-cylinder versions, the MBE900 is extensively used in Freightliner Group vehicles in North America.

The Freightliner Group, headquartered in Portland, Ore., is the largest manufacturer of heavy-duty trucks in North America and a leading manufacturer of medium-duty vehicles.

Freightliner produces and markets Class 3-8 vehicles under the Freightliner, Sterling, Western Star, American LaFrance and Thomas Built Buses nameplates. The Freightliner Group and Detroit Diesel are both part of DaimlerChrysler’s Commercial Vehicles Division.

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