The fully electronic engine, which is expected to be ready for production in 2009, will feature a power range from 400 to 545 horsepower and is designed to be used in heavy-duty trucks above 40 tons gross weight. The engine will take advantage of Cummins industry-leading technology that will make it capable of meeting future emission standards in global Heavy Duty markets.
The development agreement is a further expansion of the longstanding Cummins-Dongfeng partnership. It also marks a departure from the traditional joint venture model in China. Typically, Chinese joint venture partners have imported existing product technology from their international partners and used that technology as the basis for manufacturing products to meet the China market.
This is the first time that a Cummins heavy-duty engine platform has been developed outside the United States. Likewise, it is the first time that Dongfeng has worked with an international partner to design a new engine platform.
Initial development work on the engine platform has started at the Cummins Technical Center in Columbus, Ind. Development will be shared with the Cummins East Asia Research and Development Center in Wuhan, China, when the center opens in the third quarter of 2006. The Cummins East Asia center is a joint venture between Cummins and DCEC.
"This announcement is another example of the strength of our growing partnership with Dongfeng Motor Company," said Cummins Engine Business President Jim Kelly. "This engine platform will expand the breadth of our product offerings in China, and help position both Cummins and Dongfeng for future success in a growing segment of the heavy-duty truck market."
Cummins does not currently have a product in this displacement range, and this new platform is designed to take advantage of the expected strong growth in demand at the higher end of the heavy-duty tuck market in China over the next several years. The engine platform also is being designed so that it can be readily modified to meet future U.S. EPA and Euro IV/V emission standards.
China is in the midst of the largest highway-building effort in its history and is expected to have an interstate highway system second only to the United States by 2010. The expansion of the interstate system will allow larger trucks to carry more goods across more of China, fueling the demand for increasingly powerful heavy-duty trucks.
The Cummins-Dongfeng relationship dates back nearly 20 years and the two companies have been joint venture partners since DCEC was formed in 1996. DCEC currently makes Cummins ISB, ISC and ISL mid-range engines (3.9 - 9.0 liters) and is in the midst of an expansion that will increase capacity from 160,000 to 200,000 engines a year in 2007. The two companies also are partners in a filter manufacturing plant in Shanghai.
"DFM and Cummins' strategic cooperation has undergone four major steps since the mid-1980s when it started as a licensee agreement for the B series engine to today's announcement of the development of a 13-liter engine," said Zhu Fushou, General Manager of Dongfeng Automobile Co. Ltd., the Dongfeng Motors subsidiary that owns a 50 percent stake in DCEC. "This latest agreement shows once again that our partnership with Cummins is a healthy one for both companies."
About Dongfeng Motor Company
Dongfeng Motor Company (DFM) was founded in 1969 and is one of the three largest automakers in China. DFM employs more than 106,000 people and reported sales of more than $11.5 billion in 2004.
About Cummins
Cummins Inc., a global power leader, is a corporation of complementary business units that design, manufacture, distribute and service engines and related technologies, including fuel systems, controls, air handling, filtration, emission solutions and electrical power generation systems. Headquartered in Columbus, Indiana, (USA) Cummins serves customers in more than 160 countries through its network of 550 Company-owned and independent distributor facilities and more than 5,000 dealer locations. With more than 28,000 employees worldwide, Cummins reported sales of $8.4 billion in 2004. Press releases can be found on the Web at www.cummins.com.
© 2005 Business Wire
