TRATON-Navistar Merger Impacts Engine Development

Chris Fisher
Chris Fisher

In November, Volkswagen’s TRATON group and Navistar announced a merger agreement in which TRATON will acquire all outstanding shares of Navistar.  Previously, TRATON held 16.7% of Navistar’s common shares.  The deal is valued at $3.7 billion and is expected to be finalized in mid-2021.

Navistar has been in collaboration with TRATON’s brand MAN for a number of years, primarily with regard to engine development.  PSR believes additional engine offerings will be one of the primary goals to improve profitability and long-term market share improvement within the class 8 truck segment.

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Navistar Introduces S13 Engine Platform

Chris Fisher
Chris Fisher

Navistar says it plans to introduce the Navistar 12.7 liter S13 engine platform in the fourth quarter of 2023.  The S13 engine is based upon the Scania DC13 engine and will supersede the current 12.4 liter A26 engine platform starting next year.  The initial engine installations will be standard on the LT and RH truck platforms and will be introduced to the HV and HX platforms in 2024.  The order books are expected to open in October.

The S13 engine will be paired with the new International T14 automated manual transmission.  The T14 is a 14 speed AMT which is the first transmission offered by the company.

The current A26 engine platform is based upon the MAN D26 engine platform and will be superseded by the S13 engine over the next few years.  Navistar will continue to source the Cummins engine lineup for the foreseeable future.  According to Navistar, this will be the last engine upgrade for the company as they plan to focus on zero-emission vehicles.  Navistar says that half of all its new vehicles sold by 2030 will be zero-emission; it expects to reach 100% of sales in 2040. PSR

Source: International S13

Chris Fisher is Senior Commercial Vehicle Analyst at Power Systems Research

Product Definitions Guide

Product Descriptions by Segment and Application Power Systems Research tracks some 250 products in 13 major industrial segments. This Guide defines each product that PSR lists in its proprietary databases. Segment: Agriculture Application: 2-Wheel Tractors 2-Wheel Tractors Application: Ag Tractors 2-Wheel Drive Tractors 4WD Articulated Ag Tractors MFWD Tractors (Mechanical Front Wheel Drive) Tracked Ag

Power Systems Research Sees Strong Commercial Vehicle Demand Continuing

OEM Off-Highway recently interviewed Power Systems’ Chris Fisher for their OEM Industry Update podcast. Here we present it with their permission

This week on OEM Industry Update we speak with Chris Fisher, Senior Commercial Vehicle Analyst, Power Systems Research, about the current state of the North American commercial vehicle market. He says truck demand continues to be strong and is expected to remain so through 2022 and possibly even into 2023. Inventory stocking and solid growth in single family housing are among the factors positively impacting the market. 

Transcript

Welcome to the PSR PowerTALK podcast, produced by Power Systems Research.

00:13 Sarah Jensen:

Welcome to OEM Industry Update; a weekly podcast examining the latest news and technology trends impacting product development teams and the heavy-duty on and off highway equipment Industries. I’m Sarah Jensen, editor of OEM Off Highway and in this week’s episode I’ll be speaking with Chris Fisher, Senior Commercial Vehicle Analyst at Power Systems Research, about the current state of the North American commercial vehicle market. Let’s take a listen now:

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Briggs & Stratton Files Chapter 11, Sets Sale Agreement

Briggs & Stratton (B&S) one of the  largest producers of gasoline engines for outdoor power equipment, and a manufacturer of power generation, pressure washer, lawn and garden, turf care and job site products, has filed Chapter 11 Bankruptcy.

Michael Aistrup
Michael Aistrup

The company has obtained $677.5 million in financing, with $265 million committed by KPS and the remaining $412.5 from the company’s existing group of lenders.

B&S also announced it has entered into a definitive stock and asset purchase agreement with KPS Capital Partners. Under the terms of the agreement, an affiliate of KPS formed for purposes of this transaction has agreed to acquire substantially all the company’s assets and assume certain customer, employee and vendor liabilities.

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Hydrogen Fuel Cell MH Commercial Vehicle Update

Chris Fisher
Chris Fisher

With regards to zero-emission medium and heavy vehicles, we have heard during the past few years that battery electric commercial trucks will ultimately replace the diesel-powered internal combustion engine for commercial trucks.  At some point in the future this might be true for short and regional haul freight carriers but what about the long-haul heavy truck segment? 

Currently, the lack of charging infrastructure, range anxiety and the extreme weights associated with the batteries will be a significant deterrent to mass adoption of long-haul battery electric trucks.  However, hydrogen fuel cell trucks for long-haul applications appear to be a viable option in this segment.  Even though fuel cell trucks currently have a greater range and lighter weight than battery electric trucks, they have the same problem as electric trucks due to a lack of a power infrastructure.

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Second Wave of COVID-19 Hits India Commercial Vehicle Market

Aditya Kondejkar

The second wave of COVID-19 has put the brakes on a rebound in India’s commercial vehicle market, reports Aditya Kondejkar, Power Systems Research Analyst for South Asia Operations, in the May 2021 issue of Motorindia magazine.

Kondejkar notes that the second wave of the pandemic has caused shortages of semiconductors and steel as well as weaker consumer demand. These forces have pushed commercial vehicle production down nearly 60% month-on-month (MoM) in April.

Kondejkar points out that the India CV market witnessed a strong performance in 2018 with more than 1.13 million
units produced, owing in large part to GST implementation and replacement demand. In 2019, however, the Indian CV market began shrinking as it faced headwinds from revised axle load norms, vehicle over-capacity, BS-VI transition, and a liquidity crunch.

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