Cummins plans electric powertrain for short-haul applications, long-haul still a ways off

Cummins announced Wednesday it plans to introduce a fully electrified powertrain for the urban transportation market by 2019.Cummins announced Wednesday it plans to introduce a fully electrified powertrain for the urban transportation market by 2019.

Cummins announced Wednesday evening in a teleconference it will introduce a fully electrified powertrain for the urban transportation market by 2019 and a range-extended electrified powertrain by 2020.

The company said electric powertrain solutions for pickup and delivery and material handling applications would follow, but did not announce near-term plans for such systems in the North American commercial trucking industry, citing the familiar battery size and weight issues associated with long-range applications.

“Longer term, electrification will come to all of our markets,” said Julie Furber, executive director of Cummins’ Electrification Business Development, a division formed earlier this year. “We are looking into mild hybridization to gain efficiency, but fully electrified powertrains for long-haul vehicles is a ways out into the future.”

The timing of the Cummins announcement coincides with the precipitous price drop of batteries and electronic components required to make electrified powertrain technology a viable alternative to diesel power. Customer demand for electric power also is rising in urban areas, where noise and emissions regulations will spur subsidies for early adopters.

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Cummins’ new endeavor also comes on the heels of Nikola Motor Company’s Nikola One hydrogen-electric hybrid announced last year and Elon Musk’s promise to introduce the Tesla Semi electric truck later this summer.

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