Stuttgart / Portland (Oregon) – Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) presents the all new Western Star 49X truck in the USA. The iconic US truck with its striking front-end design and characteristic chrome look are used in North America predominantly as special vehicles and construction site vehicles in the so called vocational segment. While DTNA is the undisputed market leader in the long haul segment, the North American affiliate of Daimler Trucks considers the vocational segment as an area of further growth. To systematically tap into this growth potential, Daimler Trucks North America designed the all new Western Star 49X from the ground up to meet the needs of vocational customers by being tougher, safer and lighter in weight. In addition, DTNA incorporated feedback from the leading truck equipment manufacturers to ensure this truck would meet their needs for a quicker, more efficient conversion. The all-new Western Star 49X is available for order this winter and first deliveries begin in early 2021.

Purpose-built for the vocational segment

Daimler Trucks North America and its Western Star brand started with a clean sheet design with the sole intent to deliver a heavy-duty-vocational truck. So the new Western Star 49X enables total weight savings of more than 150 kg (350 lbs) in like-for-like spec’ing versus the current Western Star 4900 and that weight savings starts with an all-new vocational frame. Single channel frame rail options are available in a variety of thicknesses and feature best-in-class RBM (Resisting Bending Moment) strength rating -- yielding greater durability and weight savings. The new lighter and yet tougher cab constructed of steel-reinforced aluminum delivers greater strength and durability while offering an 8% lighter cab than the current 4900, enabling more payload on the business end of the truck. The new Western Star 49X will be instantly recognizable as a vocational truck when looking at the trench style low roof designed to accommodate overhead equipment while maintaining overall vehicle height. Looking at the powertrain, the all new Western Star 49X clearly benefits from Daimler Trucks global engineering expertise and comes with the best from the Detroit brand. The all-new DD15 Gen 5 heavy-duty engine offers enhanced performance, uptime and reliability from Daimler Trucks proven heavy duty engine platform (HDEP). In addition, the all-new DT12-V and –VX transmissions are built on the proven DT-12 and received $100 million dollars of investment and over 35 million miles of validation testing to ensure they are ready for the toughest jobs. In terms of vehicle safety the new Western Star 49X now brings Detroit Assurance industry-leading safety equipment to the vocational segment, including active brake assist, side guard assist, adaptive cruise control and more to keep operators, workers at the job site, pedestrians, and fellow motorists safe.

Proven. Like no other

Vocational customers work in the most challenging environments in the world; places where durability and uptime are crucial. So, consequently DTNA has put the next Western Star through its paces to ensure this truck exceeds customer expectations. Western Star’s all-new vocational truck is set to be the toughest Western Star yet after being subjected to the extreme and grueling testing conditions designed by DTNA’s Product Validation Engineering (PVE) team. When it arrives, the next Western Star will have the undisputed honor of being the most tested truck in Western Star’s history. DTNA spent 6 years designing and validating the truck and employed testing and validation methodology never used before. In that testing process the PVE team crushed the cab with 20 metric tons, performed 10.000 frame twists to replicate a lifetime of the truck or spent over 400 hours of testing on full-vehicle and component shakers, the testing equivalent of over 800,000 miles of use.

About Western Star

Western Star, headquartered in Portland, Ore., produces tough custom trucks for highway and vocational applications. Western Star is a subsidiary of Daimler Trucks North America. Daimler Trucks North America produces and markets Class 5-8 vehicles and is a company of Daimler TruckAG, the world’s leading commercial vehicle manufacturer.

About Detroit

Detroit is a single-source trucking business solution that offers mid-range and heavy-duty diesel engines, transmissions, axles, safety systems and connected vehicle services for on-highway and vocational commercial markets. Detroit products are sold and serviced through a network of hundreds of locations in North America. For more information, or to find the nearest Detroit location, visit DemandDetroit.com. Detroit is a brand of Detroit Diesel Corporation, a subsidiary of Daimler Trucks North America.

Please find additional information, images, tech sheets and b-roll material on https://daimler-trucksnorthamerica.com/49x