The standards include phased-in reductions of up to 25 percent in GHG emissions from tractors and vocational vehicles, which includes up to a five percent improvement coming from the engine.
DTNA is pleased that the EPA and NHTSA chose a non-disruptive implementation of the standard, thereby allowing the industry over a decade to phase-in technical changes. This ensures that no unrealistic cost of acquisition pressure will be placed on our valued customers and in the end, will avoid unnecessary burden on the cost of transportation, which is essential for the prosperity and competitiveness of the economy.
“The United States is facing significant challenges regarding GHG reduction as well as its continued dependence on foreign oil. DTNA will continue to work closely with the EPA, NHTSA, and our partners to develop new solutions that will have a positive environmental impact and fuel efficiency gains for our customers that are harmonious with the Phase Two standards,” said Martin Daum, President and CEO, Daimler Trucks North America. “We will build upon our existing industry leadership and continue to set the global standard in efficiency and environmentally-friendly business solutions.”
Daum continued, “DTNA supports regulations which reduce GHG emissions as well as diesel consumption. As we have stated through the collaborative debate on the Phase Two rule, the final rule needed to provide clear, long-term targets for the entire vehicle, not just the engine. It also needed to provide enough time and flexibility for the OEMs and customers to decide themselves how to achieve the reductions in a way that is economically feasible."
When the first round of GHG mandates were announced in 2011, Daimler set the goal to lead the NAFTA region in developing environmentally friendly, resource efficient and sustainable transport solutions. DTNA exceeded this goal, and achieved compliance with the EPA and NHTSA’s Phase One standards more than a year in advance of the first certification mandate, in 2014.
“We’re proud of what we’ve achieved to date, but accomplishing the up to 25 percent reductions over the next decade will require the focused efforts from all of our engineers. We are confident that we are up to the challenge, and know that we can have a significant impact on reducing GHG emissions and fuel consumption,” said Sean Waters, Director of Compliance and Regulatory Affairs, Daimler Trucks North America. “And we will do so while continuing to provide products to our customers that provide a real cost of ownership benefit.”
Improving efficiency by as much as 25 percent for tractors and vocational vehicles over the course of more than a decade is a tremendous challenge for an industry that has been treating fuel efficiency as a first order priority for our customers for many decades. The up to five percent engine efficiency improvement included in the overall efficiency target will require continued development of engine technology while providing OEMs the needed time and flexibility to deploy the most effective balance of engine and vehicle technologies to our customer base.
