Retail Giant to Receive 75 Freightliner Trucks with Detroit Diesel DD13 Engines and BlueTec SCR Near-Zero Emissions Technology – Fleet Will Eliminate 525 US Tons of NOx & 9,300 US Tons of CO2

PORTLAND, Ore., – Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) today announced delivery of its first fleet of U.S. EPA 2010 trucks to Meijer, an EPA SmartWaySM award-winning supercenter retailer headquartered in Grand Rapids, Mich. Meijer placed one of the nation’s first 2010 fleet orders, purchasing 75 EPA 2010 Freightliner Cascadia® trucks equipped with Detroit Diesel DD13™ engines and BlueTec® emissions technology.

Designed to be one of the most aerodynamic trucks ever, the Freightliner Cascadia Day Cab exceeds the EPA SmartWay voluntary specifications that improve fuel economy and reduce emissions. In combination with the Detroit Diesel DD13 engine and BlueTec 1-Box™ emissions control system, Meijer’s new fleet of Freightliner trucks will dramatically improve fuel efficiency while reducing emissions to near-zero levels of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulate matter as measured at the tailpipe.

When compared to an average EPA 2007 truck and over an average vehicle lifetime of one million miles, the new, clean emissions 2010 Freightliner Cascadia with the DD13 engine and BlueTec will:

• Reduce fuel consumption by nearly 11,500 gallons of diesel fuel per truck
• Reduce fleet fuel costs by nearly $30,000 per truck
• Reduce CO2 emissions by 124 U.S. tons per truck
• Reduce NOx emissions to near-zero – eliminating approximately seven U.S. tons per truck

As a fleet of trucks, Meijer’s investment in environmentally-friendly 2010-compliant trucks will actually save the company money, reducing fuel consumption by more than 800,000 gallons of diesel fuel and reducing fuel costs by more than $2 million over the lifetime of the fleet as compared to deploying less advanced technology. Thanks to their fuel efficiency, this same Cascadia fleet will reduce CO2 by 9,300 U.S. tons while virtually eliminating 525 U.S. tons of smog-creating NOx from the air.

Meijer operates 191 stores throughout the Midwest. In addition to being an early adopter of the 2010 emissions control technologies, Meijer is known for innovative approaches and implementation of a variety of green initiatives such as the installation of rooftop wind turbines on a number of its stores. In October 2007, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency SmartWay Transportation Partnership awarded Meijer its Environmental Excellence Award for leadership in conserving energy and lowering greenhouse gas emissions from its transportation and freight activities. The replacement of older Meijer fleet trucks with 2010 Freightliner trucks with Detroit Diesel engines and BlueTec emissions systems is a continuation of Meijer’s green initiatives.

Meeting Meijer’s specification for a short wheel base and tandem axles attests to the commitment and extensive efforts made to develop BlueTec as an adaptable system that could be configured for almost any application. The optimized chassis packaging on the new 2010 Meijer fleet trucks delivers maximum freight and fuel efficiency, manages overall vehicle weight distribution, and maintains vehicle maneuverability.

According to Tom McCall, vice president of logistics for Meijer, the pairing of the aerodynamic Freightliner Cascadia with the DD13 engine and BlueTec effectively matched Meijer’s criteria for reliability, fuel economy, durability and serviceability. “We’re extremely proud to be one of the first companies to deploy these clean driving 2010 trucks,” said McCall. “While it’s thrilling to be at the front end of the rollout of such innovative technology, it’s also exciting to partner with another Michigan-based company, Detroit Diesel Corporation, to help stimulate the economy and provide jobs right in our own backyard.”

Daimler’s commitment to meeting environmental challenges is reflected in the company’s early adoption, research and development of selective catalytic reduction (SCR) technologies to meet the needs of North American trucking.

“DTNA has invested more than a decade in the design and evolution of emissions technologies to optimize the entire powertrain system for our North American trucking customers. We’re especially pleased to have been chosen by Meijer as their supplier of choice for the first fleet order of U.S. EPA 2010 trucks,” said Randy DeBortoli, EPA 2010 program manager, Daimler Trucks North America.

“Meijer is at the forefront of business and environmental strategies, and we’re proud to deliver Freightliner trucks with Detroit Diesel engines and BlueTec to them as a proven technology and total vehicle solution that will deliver a significant return on their emissions technology investment. .”

On behalf of Detroit Diesel Corporation, Daimler Trucks and DTNA invested more than $2 billion toward the development and commercialization of the successful new Detroit Diesel engine family, BlueTec emissions technology and the modernization of Detroit Diesel’s engine production facilities. The DD13 engine is one of a family of new fuel efficient, reduced-emission engines developed by Detroit Diesel in collaboration with the Department of Energy 21st Century Truck Partnership Program.

Detroit Diesel’s DD13 engine was designed with BlueTec emissions technology and the EPA 2010 standards in mind. Tested over more than 30 million miles in North America, including more than 2 million real-world customer freight-hauling miles, BlueTec delivers a fuel economy of up to 5% compared to EPA 2007 engines. It is an evolution of the SCR technology developed by Daimler and used today by more than 200,000 trucks in Europe and Japan.

SCR is an emissions technology that treats NOx emissions downstream in the exhaust so that the engine can be tuned to run more efficiently and economically. SCR technology consists of an after-treatment catalyst system that allows engine exhaust to be treated with a non-hazardous fluid known as diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) that reduces harmful NOx into simple nitrogen and water.

For 2010 heavy duty on-highway trucks, like those purchased by Meijer, BlueTec is optimally packaged in a proprietary 1-Box system that combines SCR technology with the diesel oxidation catalyst and the diesel particulate filter. DEF is stored in a refillable tank located on the driver side of the truck that can be refilled by the truck driver during normal refueling stops.

Daimler Trucks North America LLC, headquartered in Portland, Ore., is the leading medium- and heavy-duty truck manufacturer in North America. Daimler Trucks North America produces and markets Class 4-8 vehicles and is a Daimler company, the world’s leading commercial vehicle manufacturer.