Manufacturing milestone at Mercedes-Benz do Brasil: 2.5 million engines produced since 1956

• The plant in São Bernardo do Campo is a major pillar of the Brazilian commercial vehicle market and has been a pioneer for the past 53 years
• Jürgen Ziegler, President of Mercedes-Benz do Brasil: “Our customers appreciate our engines for their efficiency, quality, performance, and reliability”

São Bernardo do Campo, Brazil – Mercedes-Benz do Brasil has produced a landmark 2.5 million engines at its plant in São Bernardo do Campo near São Paulo. São Bernardo do Campo is the only plant of Daimler Trucks to produce trucks, bus chassis, engines, and other aggregates at the same production site. The engines are also delivered to other Daimler Group sites, such as in Argentina, where they are installed in Mercedes-Benz Sprinter vans.

“Mercedes-Benz do Brasil was a pioneer in the introduction of diesel engines for trucks and buses in Brazil in the 1950s and in the use of electronic management systems in engines in the 1990s,” says Jürgen Ziegler, President of Mercedes-Benz do Brasil. “During our 53 years of operation in this country, we have accumulated vast amounts of experience with regard to the needs of the freight and passenger transport sector. Our customers acknowledge this experience and appreciate our vehicles and engines for their efficiency, quality, performance, and reliability.”

Demand has been growing in Brazil since the middle of last year, and the marketing is recovering. This is also leading to an upswing in the truck and bus business, and many vehicle fleets are currently being replaced. In response to the recovery of the Brazilian commercial vehicle market, Mercedes-Benz do Brasil has been investing for the past several months in increasing its capacity so that it will be prepared to meet the rising demand.

Because of this positive development, Mercedes-Benz do Brasil hired 1,200 new employees last year. Mercedes-Benz do Brasil is the largest manufacturer of Mercedes-Benz trucks over six tons GVW outside Germany. Since 1956, when it began its activities in Sao Bernardo do Campo, the company has produced more than 1.2 million trucks and around 540,000 buses.

Whereas the first engines manufactured by Mercedes-Benz do Brasil (OM 321, 326, and 324) still used indirect injection, the company made a big technological leap in 1969 when it introduced the OM 352 with direct injection. Mercedes-Benz do Brasil has also been very active in the field of alternative drives for a long time.

After conducting initial tests with alternative fuels in gasoline and diesel engines in 1977, the company launched the M 352 G natural gas engine in 1985. This engine was so successful that Brazil is still one of Daimler Trucks’ competence centers for natural gas-powered engines. In 1998 Mercedes-Benz do Brasil unveiled the first engine with electronic injection, the OM 457 LA.