LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Daimler Trucks chief Andreas Renschler said Thursday that his company is readying the largest introduction of new vehicles in its history.
At a press event at the Mid-America Trucking Show here, Renschler said Daimler Trucks over the next four years plans to spend 2 billion euros, about $2.65 billion, on the “biggest product launch in our history.”
While he acknowledged that the global truck market is still facing “headwinds,” Daimler believes in reinvesting into its product lines. “We have the pedal on the metal,” he said.
Daimler Trucks North America President Martin Daum told Transport Topics that the product plan focuses on improving fuel efficiency of its diesel engines and expanding use of compressed natural gas and liquid natural gas engines.
Daum said DTNA has received close to 7,000 orders from more than 700 customers for new Class 6- 8 trucks that feature selective catalytic reduction systems.
Daimler is using SCR aftertreatment to comply with new Environmental Protection Agency limits on nitrogen oxide emissions that take effect this year.
While those numbers are in line with the company’s production schedule for the first half of the year, Renschler cautioned that it’s far too early to say that the truck market is on the way to a full recovery.
“I don’t know if that’s sustainable, but the signals are better than what we had last year,” he said.
