From 2002 there were plans in New Zealand at KiwiRail to procure new diesel locomotives. After realizing that New Zealand did not have the necessary know-how for completely independent production and that the American and Australian manufacturers could not deliver in a timely manner, they were the first western railway company to order locomotives in China. They came from CRRC Dalian and were powered by a 20-cylinder diesel from the German manufacturer MTU. With an output of 3,600 hp, they are the most powerful diesel-electric locomotives in New Zealand. Although there were initially problems with the reliability, these were resolved and a total of 73 locomotives were built from five orders between 2009 and 2023. 