Trucking news and briefs for Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2020:
Cummins introduces new EPA-compliant engine lineup with mpg boost
Cummins on Tuesday unveiled its lineup of 2021 emissions-compliant X12 and X15 on-highway engines, which the company says will boast an increase in fuel economy.
The coming model year represents the first phase of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Phase 2 emissions requirements. The new measures are a step up from the current level – enacted for the 2017 model year – and increase incrementally in model-year 2024 before phasing in completely by model-year 2027. Once fully phased-in, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the standards will achieve up to 24% lower CO2 emissions and fuel consumption compared to Phase 1.
The EPA 2021-compliant X15 Efficiency Series – making up about 70% of Cummins X15 sales – was brought to market earlier this year, a full model year ahead of the regulation change, leaving just the X12 and two other X15 series engines to get the update with order books for 2021 trucks already opening.
Nick Roth, Cummins’ director of national accounts, said that some customers are seeing in excess of 9 mpg in the current X15, but that number varies by segment, by driver and by a wide array of other factors. For 2021, X15 Efficiency Series customers with EX ratings (equipped with an Endurant HD transmission and GPS-enabled features such as Predictive Engine Braking and Predictive Gear Shifting) can expect to gain an additional 1.5% in fuel economy.
The X15 Performance Series gets a fuel economy boost of up to 2% over the prior generation. The X12, through base hardware changes, gets an added 2.5% fuel economy improvement. Compared to the previous generation ISX12, the 2021 X12 engine gets an improved fuel economy of up to 8.5%.
Both the X15 and X12 engines feature a 75,000-mile oil drain interval for trucks getting 7 mpg or more, but the X15 Performance Series will get a 10,000-mile bump for 2021 in trucks getting between 5 and 7 mpg.–Jason Cannon
