The German auto group Daimler, world leader in heavy truck manufacturing, said Friday it would build a popular Mercedes-Benz model in Brazil to meet fast growing demand in Latin America. The Actros truck designed for long-distance transport is to be produced in Juis de Fora, southern Brazil, a statement said, in addition to plants in Woerth, southern Germany and Aksaray, central Turkey. "The move will enable Mercedes-Benz do Brasil to respond more quickly and flexibly to the growing demand for trucks in Latin America, particularly in the rapidly expanding heavy-duty segment," the statement said. In the first half of 2010, Brazil emerged as the truck unit's biggest market, with sales of 21,700 vehicles from a global total of 56.300. Mercedes was surprised by strong growth in Brazil, even though it announced in March an extension of its biggest truck factory outside Europe, in Sao Bernardo do Campo, southern Brazil. Building its trucks close to ...

Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) has secured two new major orders, thus substantially exceeding the sales milestone of 10,000 BlueTec trucks. “By enabling us to reach the 10,000-order milestone, our customers have shown that BlueTec is the best choice for complying with the stringent EPA 2010 emissions standard”, said Martin Daum, President and CEO of DTNA. The latest orders were placed by the fleet operator Penske Truck Leasing and the retailer Meijer. Penske Truck Leasing, which has its headquarters in Reading, Pennsylvania, is a leading truck fleet operator in the U.S. To meet the EPA 2010 emissions regulations, the company has ordered 750 Freightliner Cascadia heavy-duty trucks equipped with BlueTec technology, making DTNA the largest supplier of EPA 2010-compliant trucks to Penske Truck Leasing. The parent company, Penske Corporation, operates a fleet of more than 200,000 vehicles and serves customers at more than 1,000 locations in North America, South America, Europe, ...