Mercedes-Benz Reaches Engine Milestone In Brazil

By Mauro Belo Schneider

Mercedes-Benz announced it has manufactured its three millionth heavy-duty vehicle engine in Brazil. The milestone engine is an OM 457 LA diesel, manufactured at the company’s São Bernardo do Campo plant. Mercedes-Benz began manufacturing engines in Brazil in 1956.

“No other manufacturer has reached this production number in Brazil,” said Philipp Schiemer, Mercedes-Benz do Brasil’s president and CEO for Latin America. “It is with pride and satisfaction that I share this historic moment with our team of employees and suppliers.

“Our brand introduced the concept of diesel in Brazil 61 years ago, when we opened our plant of trucks and buses. Since then, it has not stopped to improve products and to innovate, as it was made when the first electronic engine for commercial vehicles was launched with the technology BlueTec 5.”

Engines manufactured in Brazil are sold in the local market and are exported to 60 other countries. They are used in light, medium, semi heavy and extra heavy trucks, as well as all of the company’s lines of bus chassis.

“We count today with the assembling line of OM 900 family of four- and six-cylinders, following Euro 3 to Euro 5 regulation, with potency ratings from 116 to 243 kW (156 to 326 hp),” said Carlos Santiago, vice-president of Operations at Mercedes-Benz do Brasil. “Another line is for the assembling of OM 400 family of six-cylinders, Euro 3 to Euro 5, with potencies from 257 and 380 kW (345 and 510 hp).”

Mercedez-Benz also supplies to other units of Daimler Group worldwide. Since August 2017, the Brazilian plant started exporting the OM 460 Euro 3 engine to Daimler in Wörth, Germany, to be used at Actros, Arocs and Zetros models sold in Africa and the Middle East.

The São Bernardo do Campo plant is the largest of Daimler outside Germany and it is the only facility that produces engines, gears, axles, trucks and bus chassis.