The locomotives are similar to the 163, 263 and 363 classes, but differ in electrical equipment, due to the need to operate across borders.

[1] In the 1970s, the Deutsche Reichsbahn electrified the Děčín–Dresden-Neustadt railway between Dresden and Schöna, near the Czech border, using the standard German electrification of 15 kV 16 2⁄3 Hz.

Across the Czechoslovak border, railways were electrified with 3 kV DC, creating a gap between Schöna and Děčín, which required trains to be diesel hauled.

To solve this problem, it was decided to develop a class of locomotives that could operate on both the German AC and the Czech DC electrification systems.

Czech locomotives modified to operate at 160 kilometres per hour (99 mph) were renumbered to Class 371.