PORTLAND, Ore. — Daimler Trucks North America says its Detroit Diesel EPA-compliant 2010 BlueTec engines and Cummins mid-range engines will rage between $6,000 and $9,000 more than current models.

Detroit Diesel DD15 and DD16 big bore engines, as well as the medium bore DD13, will be $9,000 per vehicle, while a surcharge of $7,300 will be added Cummins ISC8.3 engine and a $6,700 for Cummins ISB6.7 engines.

The surcharges reflect costs associated with adding selective catalytic reduction (SCR) aftertreatment technology, the emissions solution of choice for all major truck OEMs except Navistar, which is continuing with its EGR system. 

Although EGR will be slightly cheap upfront, SCR is expected to deliver fuel economy improvements over engines currently on the road.

Detroit Diesel’s pricing is consistent with Volvo and Mack’s surcharge for their own SCR engines.

 "Our decade of commitment to this technology as a vertically integrated chassis and engine manufacturing company has allowed us to contain design and development costs," said Martin Daum, president and CEO, Daimler Trucks North America.

Detroit Diesel BlueTec fuel efficiencies are the result of three optimization factors: Base engine-out NOx levels, diesel
particulate filter (DPF) regeneration intervals, and exhaust back pressure, the company says.

In addition, reduced reliance on exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) lowers heat rejection which means no expansion of cooling capacity and no resulting impact on aerodynamics or under-hood packaging.