Search Results for: united-states-daimler-enters-medium-duty-engine-market-dd5

2020-11-24

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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2022-11-15

Hydrogen Fuel Cell Truck News

NORTH AMERICA REPORT
Chris Fisher
Chris Fisher

During the past few years there has been plenty of talk about battery electric power replacing diesel-powered internal combustion engines in commercial trucks.  At some point this might be true for short and regional haul freight carriers, but what about the long-haul heavy truck segment? 

Currently, the lack of a sufficient charging infrastructure, range anxiety and the extreme weights associated with the batteries are significant deterrents 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: a lack of refueling infrastructure.

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2020-09-27

Tesla Poised To Start the Engine…as Competitors Close In

Even though Tesla’s “Battery Day” was held Sept. 22, 2020, it didn’t produce the wildly exciting results that Elon Musk had promised would “blow your mind.”

Tyler Wiegert
Tyler Wiegert

During its event, Tesla unveiled plans to develop a “million mile” battery that could last an electric car’s entire lifetime on the road. It also outlined plans to dramatically reduce the cost of its battery cells and packs to $100 per kilowatt-hour, at which point experts believe electric cars will become comparable in price to combustion engine vehicles.

Bill Gates-backed QuantumScape, the first US battery company to go public in a decade, announced that it has overcome two major hurdles to create an all-metal lithium battery, which, if true, would allow electric vehicles to go up to 50% further on a single charge. Those hurdles were metallic lithium’s propensity to explode when it comes into contact with liquid and its needle structure that has historically punctured plastic separators between electrodes and caused shorts.

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2022-09-28

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

2020-11-24

Makita Engine Products To Be Discontinued in March 2022

Makita, a major power tool company, will discontinue the production of engine products such as engine mowers, engine chainsaws, and other engine products for garden equipment at the end of March 2022. The company will concentrate its resources on its mainstay rechargeable power tools and garden equipment, for which demand is expected to increase in the future. Annual sales of engine products account for less than 2% of the total.

Source: The Nikkei

PSR Analysis: I visited Makita’s booth at the Agri Week exhibition in October. Engine models were not on exhibit and had been removed from their catalog. HIKOKI had the same situation. I forecast that battery models will account for more than 95% of the total hand tool market in 2021.

This is a sign that battery models have evolved to a level comparable to engine models, even in the power-demanding products. The engine model has a better ability in terms of long hours of continuous operation, but this is not a reason to extend the life of the engine model. Long working hours can be done by simply replacing the batteries. The fact that these batteries can be shared across a wide range of products, from chainsaws to impact drivers, has prompted the company to seek user understanding by introducing sales methods that offer lower unit prices when multiple batteries are purchased at once.   PSR

Akihiro Komuro is a Research Analyst, Far East and Southeast Asia for Power Systems Research

2022-08-20

MAN Plans to Launch New Generation Engine

Natasa Mulahalilovic
Natasa Mulahalilovic

Four years after introducing the most powerful engine for yachts, the V12-2000, MAN Truck and Bus has launched a new generation, high speed engine, the V12X. The official launch will take place at the Cannes Yacht Festival in France at the French Riviera Old Port, Sept. 6-11.

The latest MAN creation develops 2200 HP (1618 kw) at 2300 rpm.  The 12-cylinder engine, with 30 liters displacement is unique in the marine pleasure market.

As all other MAN compact, high speed, diesel engines, the V12X fully meets the EPA Tier 3 recreational, China Marine Recreational Stage II, IMO Tier II and RCD 2013/53/UE, 97/68/EC emission standards and directives.  

The new engine is designed for installation into medium and larger size motor yachts, sport fishing boats and cruisers. MAN Truck and Bus has a strong and lengthy collaboration with many yacht builders such as Azimut-Benetti group, Beneteau Yachts, Ferretti Group, Princess Yachts and others.

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Hyundai Doosan Infracore Plans Hydrogen Engine

FAR EAST: SOUTH KOREA REPORT

Hyundai Doosan Infracore announced that it has been selected as the lead company for the national project “Development of Hydrogen Engine System and Storage and Supply System for Construction Machinery and Commercial Vehicles” by the Industrial Technology Evaluation and Management Agency.

Through this project, the company plans to develop a 300kW, 11-liter class hydrogen engine and hydrogen tank system with zero carbon emissions, which will be installed in commercial vehicles such as trucks and large buses, and construction equipment such as excavators by 2024. After verification, the company aims to begin full-scale mass production in 2025.

“Although hydrogen engines have high energy density, they are expensive and require technological maturity to ensure durability under adverse operating conditions,” said a company official. “For this reason, the engine system is more suitable for construction machinery and medium- to large-sized commercial vehicles than for passenger cars.”

Source: Wow! Korea

PSR Analysis: Hydrogen products in Korea are still far from practical at this point. Hydrogen can be classified as green, blue, or gray depending on the cleanliness of the production process, and the hydrogen fuel cell power plant in Korea that began operating in June emits 10 tons of carbon for every ton of hydrogen it produces. At this point, Korea’s hydrogen industry is still in the gray stage, but I do not think it is time to discuss whether the technology is good or bad, as it will take time for the technology to become more advanced.

The idea that hydrogen is better suited for medium- and heavy-duty commercial vehicles than for passenger cars makes a lot of sense. However, mass production of a commercial model by 2024 is certainly a very high goal. With the lithium-ion battery industry currently thriving in South Korea, I will keep a close eye on the future development of hydrogen in the country. PSR

2022-08-20

Hino Motors’ Engine Fraud Covers 560,000 vehicles

FAR EAST: JAPAN REPORT
Akihiro Komuro
Akihiro Komuro

Hino Motors has announced that the falsification of diesel engine emission values, which was previously announced in March, had been taking place since at least 2003 or earlier. The company had previously stated that the fraud began in the fall of 2016. In 2016, the company also revealed that it had falsely reported to the MLIT (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism) in response to its request for a fact-finding survey on exhaust gas and fuel efficiency tests.

Source: The Nikkei

PSR Analysis: Although I do not wish to make such negativity a theme, I cannot overlook this issue. The impact on the industry of the fraud at Hino, which has the top share of the medium- and heavy-duty truck sector in Japan, is significant. Isuzu has suspended shipments of four bus models that use Hino engines. Not limited to the automotive field, Tadano cranes, Kobelco hydraulic excavators, Hitachi Construction Machinery wheel loaders, and Kato rough terrain cranes have also been forced to suspend shipments after the problem came to light.

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2020-11-24

KAMAZ Starts Development of Euro-6 Engine

Project “Tibet” is going on in R&D center of KAMAZ. Within this project, OEM is performing work on creation of an inline 6 cylinder engine, the KAMAZ-910.40 that meets the Euro-6 Emission standard. The initial prototype of the engine has been assembled.

New engine should have NOX reduced in 5 times, particles – in 2,5 times, ammonia – in 2,5 times, comparing to its predecessor. There are also stricter requirements to engine diagnostics.

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