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Czech-up for Detroit

25th October 1990
Page 13
Page 13, 25th October 1990 — Czech-up for Detroit
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IN US engine manufacturer Detroit Diesel has taken the first step in its return to the European market by installing its advanced Series 60 engine in the latest tractor from the Czech company Liaz.

This unlikely partnership provides Liaz with a modern driveline capable of meeting stringent emissions legislation and of being serviced more widely across Europe. It also gives Detroit Diesel a foothold on the Continent from which to expand.

The first fruit of the relationship was recently shown at the Brno International Fair in Czechoslovakia last month, with a 272kW (365hp) 12.7litre version of the four-stroke Series 60 installed (with a ZF synchro box) in Liaz's new Maxi 230 tractive unit aimed at the lucrative long-distance haulage market.

First sales of the Liaz Maxi trucks are scheduled to begin in the second half of 1991, and although Paul Moreton, Detroit Diesel's vice-president for international operations accepts that there are still a few details to be ironed out, he feels that there is a "fair chance" of the deal going ahead.

The fate of the Czech/ American cooperation also rests on the outcome of discussions between Liaz and various Western European truck manufacturers which are currently taking place. The company is believed to be talking to Iveco and Renault/Volvo, each of which could supply a suitable driveline, and a decision is expected early next year Even if Detroit Diesel engines are used — and the sophisticated driveline would certainly help Liaz's plans to sell more widely across Europe — the quantity is unlikely to be vast because the American company is constrained by production capacity. Its 1990 out put is on target for 16,500 units, with over 22,000 predicted for 1991.

This might also explain the announcement that the two companies may also work together in utilising the Americans' electronic engine technology for a smaller Liaz engine being developed for the European market.

Notwithstanding this, Detroit Diesel is pushing ahead with its European expansion plans, and is busy courting the remaining independent truck builders. Moreton says: All the European manufacturers are aware of this Series 60 engine and what it can do."

If the company does succeed in having its engines adopted it is committed to establishing a full service back-up network, most probably through the agents of the relevant chassis manufacturer.

Tags

People: Paul Moreton, Maxi
Locations: Detroit

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