CUMMINS vs. TESLA * USA: About electric engine for trucks
* Indiana - The Cummins 18,000 lb. truck, can travel 100 miles on a charge
---Cummins Inc. on Tuesday unveiled what the company is billing as the first of its kind zero-emissions truck that runs entirely on electricity. The 18,000-pound truck, built by Roush, is designed to be used for local deliveries, such as moving products between warehouses and stores. It has a maximum payload of 44,000 pounds and takes one hour to charge... Cummins isn't pinning its future solely on electric engines. The company has said it expects diesel engines to persist well into the future... In addition to rolling out an electric concept truck Tuesday, Cummins also introduced a new engine classified as near-zero natural gas, as well as super-efficient diesel engines, and announced that it would produce a "revolutionary" new heavy-duty diesel engine in 2022... (Photo: AJ Mast/AP Images for Cummins: Engine maker Cummins says it has jumped out in front of Tesla in the race to develop an all-electric engine for large trucks) -- Indianapolis, IND, USA - Indianapolis Star/USA Today, by James Briggs - Aug. 29, 2017
--- Tesla says it will unveil an electric truck in September. But Cummins isn't about to let Elon Musk simply walk away with the market. The truck engine maker announced last night that it plans to produce electric power trains for transit buses starting in 2019... How far along is Cummins in developing an electric power train?... It's a big question for investors, given that electric car maker Teslawants to sell trucks too, andElon Muskrecently teased that it plans to unveil an electric semi truck in September. Should Teslamanage to "pull that off"," then the electric car make would have the electric vehicle market all to themselves... But late Wednesday, executives at Cummins, which makes diesel and natural gas truck engines, announced on a conference call that the company plans to start production of electric power trains for transit buses in cities around the world in 2019, and expand into other industrial and commercial uses down the road as the battery range for electric vehicles increases... (Image from Cummins: TM4 INC. and CUMMINS INC. announce a joint effort to develop the TM4's LSG130 electric generator) -- Columbus, IN, USA - Barrons, by Johanna Bennett - June 15, 2017
--- Cummins and Eaton are expanding their partnership in vehicle powertrains with the establishment of a new 50-50 joint venture that will be called Eaton Cummins Automated Transmission Technologies... Under the terms of the agreement, Eaton will receive $600 million in cash from Cummins for 50 percent interest in the joint venture... Since 2013, Cummins and Eaton have partnered in the development of a range of SmartAdvantage powertrain systems for heavy-duty trucks. The powertrains combine Cummins diesel engines with Eaton’s transmissions... The joint venture will design, assemble, sell and support all future medium-duty and heavy-duty automated transmissions for the commercial vehicle market... Beachwood, Ohio, USA - WikipediaBusworld.org - 20 APR 2017
* California - L.A. Port trucking firm using Cummins’ Ultra-Low Emissions natural gas engines
--- Cummins is starting to gain traction with its new line of ultra-low emissions compressed natural gas truck engines... Total Transportation Services Inc., a large drayage trucking company workingthe Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, has started to use one of the first Cummins Westport ISX12 G low natural gas engines in one of its trucks to shuttle shipping containers around the port complex...The ultra-clean compressed natural gas (CNG) engine was developed by the Cummins Westport Inc. joint venture.It can lower the three key types of tailpipe pollutants – nitrates of oxygen or NOx, smog-causing particulates and greenhouse gases – well below the maximum levels now set by federal and state regulation... (Photo from California Natural Gas Vehicle Coalition - Total Transportation Services drayage truck uses a ultra-low emission natural gas engine from Cummins Westport) -- Los Angeles, CAL, USA - Trucks.com, by JERRY HIRSCH - March 23, 2017
* Texas - Peterbilt near-zero emissions trucks get California Incentive Approval
--- Regulators have approved a trio of Peterbilt trucks outfitted with a Cummins near-zero emissions natural gas engine for California’s green truck purchase assistance incentive program... Qualified buyers under the state’s Hybrid Vehicle Incentive Program can receive vouchers to offset the price of the 2017 Peterbilt Model 320, the 2017 Model 520 and the 2018 Model 567. All the trucks must have Cummins’ ISL-G engine... Cummins introduced the near-zero engine last year and Peterbilt was one of the first truck makers to add it to its lineup... The incentive will help California-based buyers interested in the natural gas engine’s cleaner emissions defray the additional cost of the advanced technology... Denton, Texas, USA - Trucks.com, by JOHN O'DELL - MARCH 20, 2017
* Indiana - Cummins profit rises, helped by cost cuts
--- Cummins Inc. reported higher-than-expected earnings for the fourth quarter despite declining revenue amid a slowdown in North American truck production... The engine manufacturer expects poor market conditions to continue into 2017 and said the first quarter will likely be a low point for the fiscal year... In all, Cummins reported a profit of $378 million, or $2.25 a share, up from $161 million, or 92 cents, a year earlier. Revenue dropped 5.5% to $4.5 billion... (Photo: CUMMINS trucks engines production line USA) -- Columbus, IND, USA - The Morning Star, by Imani Moise - 9 Feb 2017
---CUMMINS has announced its engine line-up for 2017. The new X15 will hit our shores inKenworths from January and in the new International shortly after... The first release X15 will have Euro V emission ratings although the Euro VI version will become available after its launch at the Brisbane Truck Show in May... Physically the X15 is the same as the current ISXe5 utilising the SCR/AdBlue emissions control system... Both the X15 and X12will go on sale in Australia with SCR managed Euro V standard with the SCR / EGR hybrid ready for Euro VI whenever the Australian market demands it... (Photo: The Cummins X15 engine hooked up to an Eaton UltraShift, SCR emissions now Euro 6 in the future) -- Scoresby VIC, Australia - Big Rigs, by Bruce Honeywill - 18th Jan 2017
* Indiana - Lackluster buying of truck engines and power generation equipment hurts the top line
--- Engine maker Cummins Inc. said revenue fell more than expected in the latest period amid a prolonged slump in demand... Shares fell 4.1% to $123.76 in morning trading... The decline was mostly attributable to lower truck production in North America and weak international demand for power-generation equipment. Currency factors dented the top line by about 2% compared with last year on a stronger U.S. dollar that makes its products more expensive overseas.Cummins also has been pressured by weak commodity prices and soft economic growth in some developing overseas markets...Revenue in North America slipped 13% and international sales dipped 3%, as declines in the Middle East and Africa offset higher revenue from China... Columbus, IND, USA - The WSJ, by JOSHUA JAMERSON - Nov. 1, 2016
MERCEDES' NEW ENGINE * Germany - The 3.0-liter M256 motor
* Stuttgart - Details about a new family of engines, complete with support for electric turbocharging
---Mercedesoffered a car with one under the hood. The new 3.0-liter M256 motor is expected to produce upwards of 300 kW (408 hp) and 500 Nm (369 lb ft) of torque, compared to the 245 kW (333 hp) and 480 Nm (354 lb ft) on offer in the current M276 — which is a V6 that's been in service since 2010. In spite of the extra power, the new engine should also be around 15 percent more efficient than the current offering, and an integrated particulate filter makes it much cleaner as well... Interestingly,M256is one of the first engines to make use of an electric turbo. Unlike a regular turbocharger, which is reliant on exhaust gas to spin up and provide a power boost, the Mercedes electric turbocan spin up to 70,000 rpm in just 300 milliseconds, offering a big shove in the back with almost no perceptible lag. It's driven by a new 48V electrical architecture, which also serves as an alternator and feeds high-draw elements like air conditioning and the starter motor... The new engines will make their debut in the 2017 Mercedes S-Class... (Photo: A cutaway look at the new inline-six engine from Mercedes) -- Stuttgart, Germany - New Atlas, by Scott Collie - November 1st, 2016
* Washington - The MX-11 and MX-13, 2017 engines evolution
---Paccar has made 1.4 million engines since 1957, and it’s taking yet another step in its evolution with updates to the 2017 MX-11 andMX-13 engines...The 2017 MX-13 is now offered with as much as 510 horsepower and 1,850 lb-ft of torque, while the MX-11 output climbs to 430 horsepower and 1,650 lb-ft. Yet another MX-11 is offered at 335 horsepower and 1,150 lb-ft... The peak torque is reached at 900 rpm in the majority of the engine ratings... The MX engines are also designed with a B10 life of a million miles, meaning that 90% of them are expected to reach that threshold without needing a major overhaul.And they come standard with factory-installed remote diagnostics... Kirkland, WASH, USA - Today's Trucking - Oct 2, 2016
* Hannover - Cummins launches new heavy-duty engines
--- Truck engine specialist, Cummins, has launched its new heavy-duty X15 and X12 engines at this year’s IAA Commercial Vehicle Show in Germany...According to Cummins the new engines meet 2017 EPA-GHG regulations in North America, and the 15L and 12L platforms also satisfy Euro VI equivalent regulations worldwide... Said Suzanne Wells, Cummins' Executive Director Components Marketing and Sales, “The technologies on show demonstrate Cummins’ distinguished global position to offer system solutions that meet increasing demands for efficiency and durability while optimising performance” ... Hannover, Germany - Prime Mover (Australia) - 27th, September 2016
* Indiana - Cummins unveils new generation of heavy-duty truck engines
--- With an eye to increasing demands for fuel economy and stricter environmental regulations Cummins Inc. is launching a new line of heavy-duty truck engines... The new diesel engines, unveiled Saturday at the Transportation Research Center’s proving ground in East Liberty, Ohio, include two 15-liter motors and a smaller 12-liter medium duty engine... The Columbus, Ind., engine manufacturer said the new diesel engines will exceed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s 2017 greenhouse and fuel efficiency standards. The EPA regulations take effect in January 2017... The new 2017 engines will offer a 3 percent fuel economy improvement over its 2016 engines, said Mario Sanchez, Cummins’ spokesman... The X series offers two new heavy-duty engines designed for fleets and the owner-operator market, while Cummins’ previous ISX platform only offered one 15-liter engine... (Photo: Cummins - Cummins worker assembles an engine at the manufacturer's Jamestown Engine Plant) -- Columbus, IND, USA - Trucks.com, by CLARISSA HAWES - July 25, 2016
* Ohio - VW Diesel settlement possible boon for heavy-duty truck, engine manufacturers
--- Volkswagen AG’sdiesel emission scandal may be one of the best things to happen to American air quality... The German carmaker’s recent legal settlement with states, territories and tribes for cheating on pollution tests requires VW to pay $2.7 billion into an “environmental remediation fund" aimed at cleaning up the damage its cars have done.That could mean grants for new school buses, upgraded port facilities and cleaner tractor-trailers... Several companies stand to gain from the influx of money: Engine makers and truck producers such as Cummins Inc., Caterpillar Inc., Peterbilt Motors Co. and Volvo AB have benefited in the past from federal funding to build environmentally friendly trucks or upgrade older vehicles’ engines... The VW money will be distributed by a trust to be established in late summer or early fall, after the judge overseeing the case formally signs off on the agreement. VW will then make three annual payments of $900 million. The trust agreement specifies 10 possible project areas for which the money can be used...States will be able to request money based on how many tainted VW cars were registered in the jurisdiction, according to Phil Brooks, director of the Environmental Protection Agency’s office of civil enforcement.California will get the most: about $381 million, according to court documents. At the other end of the spectrum will be Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia and a handful of states, each getting $7.5 million... (Photo: Inside Cummins: This is Columbus MidRange Engine Plant) -- Columbus, OH, USA - Transport Topics - 7 July 2016
* California - 4-Cylinder engines ready to replace 6’s in trucks
--- A pair of truck manufacturers are about to breach the wall that has confined four-cylinder diesel engines to smaller commercial-duty truck classes... Fuel-efficiency demands and tightening emissions regulations will lead to the replacement of six-cylinder diesel engines with a new generation of bigger, tough four-bangers, said Shaun Skinner, president of Isuzu Commercial Truck of America, which is about to launch a new four-cylinder delivery truck... Companies deploying four-cylinder engine trucks in their delivery fleets say they are achieving fuel savings with no loss of performance or complaints from drivers... Freightliner Trucks is also eyeing the greater use of four-cylinder engines in trucks... Other truck engine builders, though, insist that they are sticking with six-cylinder engines for Class 6 and larger trucks... Likewise,Cummins Engine says its six-cylinder diesels provide greater durability in urban-duty use and believes drivers prefer the “smoother, faster acceleration” of the bigger engines... Cummins spokesman Browne saidthere “is a role” for four-cylinder, medium-duty truck engines in the U.S., but only in specialized applications... (Photo - Freightlner says its Class 6 M2-series delivery trucks will get a new 5.1-liter four-cylinder diesel engine option by the end of the year) -- Truck.com, by JOHN O'DELL - June 20, 2016
Wrightspeed engine * USA - The "Tesla" of Garbage Trucks
* California - An hybrid system with an electric motor and extensive power and torque
(Video by Ole Schell - Feb 18, 2014: A spot featuring the Wrightspeed electric/turbine powered truck performing on The Bonneville Salt Flats as it is tailed by a turbine powered Bell 206 Ranger Helicopter)
---Wellington,New Zealand, had a serious issues with its decades old vehicles. They rely on a system of overhead wires the city can’t afford to maintain, so it looked like municipal authorities would need to swap out the clean transport system for dirty diesel trucks and buses.But before the city revamped its mass transit system, a third way presented itself, a high-tech, more sustainable solution that may foreshadow a shift in how cities run their fleets of heavy vehicles, such as buses and garbage trucks...A former Tesla Motorsfounder, Ian Wright, started his own company on a seemingly simple premise, applying the massive sustainability gains of electric engines to the least sustainable vehicles on the road. The company’s electric motors, battery packs, and a gas turbine can provide lumbering, multi-ton motor vehicles with 60 percent better fuel efficiency and 90 percent cleaner emissions. It was a simple choice forWellington to go withWrightspeed technology, which will be installed in the city’s trolleys over the next year as part of a US$30 million deal announced last week...
(Photo: The Wrightspeed engine system) --- The Wrightspeed hybrid system—an electric motor with extensive power and torque, a computer-controlled high-tech gear box and four-speed transmission, and a battery that’s charged by a gas-fueled turbine range extender called the Fulcrum—provides the push needed to move a heavy vehicle up hills with an electric engine, while giving it the extra juice needed to last through a long, arduous route with multiple stops... Wrightspeeddoesn’t work for every heavy vehicle, but for the backbone of urban transport and heavy-duty hauling, the system saves fuel costs and reduces emissions, with the more expensive upgrade paying for itself in three to four years.says Wright."A garbage truck can go through 14,000 gallons a year. That’s a lot more pollution, and a lot more potential savings" ...
* Indiana - Cummins wins DOE grant to develop Class 6PHEV trucks
--- Heavy vehicle manufacturer Cummins has been awarded a $4.5-million grant from the DOE to develop a Class 6 commercial PHEV... Class 6 vehicles weigh between 19,000 and 26,000 pounds fully loaded – examples include school buses and single-axle work trucks... The goal of the project is to reduce fuel consumption by at least 50%. Cummins hopes to achieve this goal over a wide range of drive cycles, in order to meet the needs of a wide variety of commercial fleet operators... Cummins researchers plan to select an engine with the optimal architecture to use as a range extender to manage the charge level of the vehicle’s battery pack... (Photo: Class 6 Ford's) -- Columbus, IND, USA - Charged EVS mag, by Charles Morris - April 19, 2016
* Indiana - Cumminsto build plug-in hybrid Class 6 truck
-- Cumminssays it has been awarded a $4.5 million grant fromthe U.S. Department of Energy to develop a Class 6 commercial plug-in hybrid electric vehicle... The truck must reduce fuel consumption by at least 50% compared to conventional Class 6 vehicles. Cummins is partnering withPaccaron the project as well as representatives from Ohio State University, National Renewable Energy LaboratoryandArgonne National Laboratory,a Cummins statement said...Cumminsresearchers will choose the best engine for use as a range extender integrated with the electrified powertrain... Cummins intends to achieve fuel savings that will meet or exceed expectations in a wide range of drive cycles in order to meet a variety of fleet needs. In addition to the electrification of the powertrain,Cummins will also optimize the internal combustion engine and use other technologies such as intelligent transportation systems and electronic braking... Columbus, IND, USA - TruckingInfo - April 7, 2016
* North Caroline - 'Near-Zero NOx' Natural Gas Engine from Cummins Westport is on the way
... Natural gas engine developer Cummins Westport Inc. told Trucks.com that its 8.9-liter “near-zero NOx” engine, previously scheduled for launch at the end of the year, is finishing its field test phase and the company will start taking orders this month. Cummins Westport is a joint venture of diesel engine giant Cummins Inc.and natural gas engine developer Westport... The engine slashes emissions of nitrogen oxide, or NOx, a smog- and ozone-causing product of fuel combustion that is particularly difficult to eradicate... Put another way, converting all 2,200 transit buses in a city the size of Los Angelesto the new engine would result “in the total NOx emissions from the entire fleet being the equivalent of what was emitted by just two buses in 1985” ... The Cummins Westport natural gas engine— called the ISL G NZ (near zero) — is aimed at helping trucking companies meet regulations set by the federal Environmental Protection Agency clean-air standard that phases in from 2023 through 2031... (Photo: Cummins - Engine production at the at Cummins Rocky Mount Engine Plant in Whitakers, NC) -- Whitakers, NC, USA - Forbes, by John O’Dell - April 11, 2016
* Indiana - Cummins gets EPA Certification for engine line-up
--Cummins Inc. announced that it received certification for its complete lineup of on-highway diesel and natural gas engines from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), meeting both the current EPA regulations and the second step in greenhouse gas (GHG) and fuel-efficiency standards which take effect in January 2017. Fuel efficiency is improved across the commercial vehicle engine lineup from 5.0 liters to 15 liters... Throughout 2014 and 2015,Cumminsimplemented efficiency enhancements that enable its engines to meet EPA 2016andGHG 2017 requirements. On-Board Diagnostics requirementsare met with enhanced monitors, ensuring that exhaust tailpipe emissions stay within the EPA limits.A Particulate Matter (PM) sensor has been implemented, and electronic controls have been enhanced to interact with the Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) quality sensor implemented by Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) on DEF tanks.With a focus on continuous improvement, Cummins plansto incorporate further product enhancements to improve performance, reliability and efficiency throughout 2016... (Photo: Cummins Engine Lineup) -- Columbus, IND, USA - Firehouse - Jan 4, 2016
TRUCKMAKERS NEWS * USA: DMAX to invest $82M and 150 new jobs
* Ohio - GM: Market hungry for big trucks needs more engines
-- The DMAX truck engine plant will see its first capacity increase since the mid-2000s after an $82 million investment that will lead to the hiring of 150 new workers, General Motors and Isuzu said Thursday... Officials wouldn’t say how many more diesel engines the Moraine plant will produce annually, but a market hungry for big trucks — from half-ton to full-ton size — demands the increased production, said Scott Whybrew, General Motors North America manufacturing manager... (Photo: DMAX workers react to the announcement made inside the plant) -- Moraine, OH, USA — Dayton Daily News, by Thomas Gnau - Dec. 10, 2015
* Illinois / USA -Navistar plans to launch over-the-air engine reprogramming
-- Navistar Inc. announced plans to begin offering over-the-air reprogramming of engine control modules for International brand trucks powered by its proprietary N Series engines... The truck maker said it will launch the two-way connected-vehicle technology early next year in model year 2017 Internationals equipped with N9, N10 and N13 engines... Navistar said it has completed initial testing in its own test fleets and will finalize testing in customer fleets in the fall... (Photo: Navistar announced that their new engines equipped with DPF and SCR systems will now be referred to as “N” series engines) -- Warrensville, ILL, USA - Transport Topics - 31 Aug 2015
** British Columbia / Canada - Natural gas engine maker Westport Innovations to buy rival Fuel Systems
-- Westport Innovations, the Canadian maker of truck engines that run on natural gas, said Tuesday that it plans to expand into making alternative-fuel engines for cars and construction equipment by buying Fuel Systems Solutions... Shareholders of New York-based Fuel Systems will receive 2.129 Westport shares, or about $7.54 per share at Monday's closing price, for each share of Fuel Systems they own. That would make the deal worth about $136.4 million... Westport shareholders will own about 64 percent of the combined company and Fuel Systems shareholders the remaining 36 percent. Westport CEODavid Demers will lead the combined company and Mariano Costamagna, who is retiring as CEO of Fuel Systems, will advise the company... The combined company will have 2015 revenue between $380 million and $405 million, the companies said... (Photo source, UPC - Westport Innovations Earnings Preview: UPS has been one of the few early adopters of natural gas engines for trucking) -- Vancouver, BC, CAN - Associated Press/Fox Business - September 01, 2015
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