Cummins Beats Tesla to Creating First Electric Heavy Duty Truck
One of the leaders in the natural gas and diesel engine making industry, Cummins, has unveiled a new heavy-duty truck cab. This leader in the commercial truck industry showed the world an advanced Class VII truck cab that comes with an advanced 140 kWh battery pack that will be sold in 2019 to both commercial truck fleets and bus operators. Referred to as AEOS, named after the mythological winged horses that pulled Helios, the Sun God across the sky is an 18,000-pound tractor cab that is currently just a demonstration model. However, they also unveiled a second item, a hauler tractor that is not only fully operational but can haul a large trailer.
Why Is This So Important?
This is an important development for a couple of reasons. First of all, the company Tesla has been working on this for quite some time and Cummins has beaten them to it. It is well-known that companies that are first in anything tend to be the most successful, and they have rightly placed themselves at the forefront of this industry. Second, it has a 100-mile range which means the Cummins electric powertrain is going to be targeting specific types of vehicles such as urban delivery trucks that bring food or drinks to stores within a short radius. As long as it has access to a 140 kWh charging station, it can be ready to go in just about an hour. The goal is to reduce that to 20 minutes, something that they see as achievable by the year 2020.
When Does Extensive Production Begin?
The production of these vehicles, as well as an extended range version which will use an onboard generator and efficient diesel engine, will begin in 2019. This will offer 300 miles of travel time in between charges, offering 50% fuel savings, even when compared to hybrids with zero emissions that utilize diesel engines today. Hopefully, this will be a very positive start for an industry that is environmentally conscious that will also carry over into the public sector to help increase the number of cars that can run off of electricity.