That concept proved very expensive in maintenance; therefore, in the mid-1950s, development of a medium-duty single engine locomotive was started to replace them.

Various lightweight materials and construction methods were employed to keep the weight below 80 t. From 1963 to 1969, two-hundred and fourteen Class 216 locomotives were manufactured.

The other parameters were largely unchanged, but the length was increased by 400 mm in order to make a later conversion to Class 218 possible.

As the heating of passenger cars was changing from steam to electricity, another variant with an additional auxiliary engine powering a generator was produced: the Class 217.

The result was Class 218, with some 410 units built between 1971 and 1979; these became the backbone of diesel traction at Deutsche Bahn AG.

As part of the restructuring of the Deutsche Bahn, and in response to changing requirements, several new classes and sub-classes were formed in this era.

These units were converted for towing and shunting operations of passenger stock by the addition of Scharfenberg couplers.

Starting from around the early 2000s Deutsche Bahn began to withdraw some of its V 160 family from service, some locomotives were scrapped, others were bought by private rail operators, some used 'as is', others were heavily modified, such as DH 1504.