Medium-duty truck sales are on the rise. According to the latest final monthly numbers from ACT Research, February’s Classes 5-7 net orders were the highest since December 2014 at 22,316 units. To support the growing medium-duty segment, Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) has made several impactful announcements, chief among them being the development, production and launch of the DD5 and DD8 engines. Fleet Equipment caught up with Kary Schaefer, DTNA’s general manager of marketing and strategy, to talk about the new engine platform and what it means to the company’s medium-duty strategy going forward.
“We are making a significant investment to build these engines at our Detroit facility,” Schaefer explained, referencing the $375 million investment the company made in the Detroit brand headquarters and manufacturing facility in Redford, Mich. “General pickup and delivery [P&D], heavily used in the rental and lease business, will be a real mainstay of this engine. Having the extended maintenance intervals up to 45,000 miles gives the owner confidence and savings to their operations while the everyday user will appreciate the savings at the pump realized by the fuel efficiency of the DD5.”
Schaefer went on to say that P&D applications are only the beginning for the DD5. “We will be excited to loosen the reigns when we have that capacity in place and allow expanded offerings such as power take-off option availability,” she said. “Just a few vocations that immediately come to mind that will be a great fit are towing and recovery, street sweeper and commercial tree care service.”
Initial production of the medium-duty line will take place in Manheim, Germany, before shifting to United States in 2018. The DD5 will be available for orders later this year in Freightliner Class 5 and 6 M2106 trucks ideally equipped for pick-up and delivery applications. Additionally, Freightliner Custom Chassis Corp. (FCCC)’s offering will also sport the DD5.
“We are very much looking forward to provide a medium-duty engine choice to FCCC and Thomas Bus as we launch production in our Detroit facility in 2018,” Schaefer said, noting that earlier this year, DTNA announced a $22.7 million investment to expand facilities and improve operations at FCCC in South Carolina. “The investment being made at FCCC is just the latest example of DTNA’s commitment to its people, facilities and customers. We genuinely strive to provide our people the best facilities and tools to deliver great products.”
Technology is always at the forefront of DTNA’s product offering, and the DD5 is no exception. Detroit Connect Virtual Technician—the company’s telematics and analytics platform, which offers real time information to fleet managers and owners in the event of an engine fault or condition that should be addressed—will roll out into the medium-duty segments as well.
“Rather than an operator possibly ignoring an engine indicator light as an unnecessary nuisance when the engine seems to be running great, fleet managers and owners are now getting more information on why that light is on or a fault occurred. They have come to realize that by addressing those issues early on, they can avoid a more costly repair and unnecessary down time,” Schaefer explained. “The Detroit Connect Virtual Technician has proven to be of significant value to our heavy-duty vocational customers and providing this capability in the medium-duty segment is going to be a game changer for us, our network and our customers.”
