Hino Turns to Cummins Diesel Engines for US, Canada
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Hino Trucks announced it intends to produce model year 2022 Classes 6-8 trucks for the United States and Canada equipped exclusively with diesel engines from Cummins Inc.
It also reported it was accelerating its timeline for producing battery-electric trucks.
It made the announcements at Work Truck Week 2021, a virtual event hosted by NTEA-The Association for the Work Truck Industry.
BREAKING NEWS! Hino Trucks announced their intent to produce medium- and heavy-duty Hino trucks with Cummins engines for sale in North America. As a result, Hino intends to offer Cummins B6.7™ & L9™ engines in Hino’s L & XL Series models by end of 2021. https://t.co/U2c8JibaKw pic.twitter.com/6K1A0e5LGd — Hino Trucks (@HINOTRUCKSUSA) March 12, 2021
NTEA is the National Truck Equipment Association.
Hino will offer the Cummins B6.7 and L9 engines in its L and XL Series models by the end of 2021, according to the Novi, Mich.-based company, a brand of Toyota Group. Previously, the trucks came with Hino’s own engines: the J08E for the L series, and A09 for the XL series.
The company plans to make the Cummins B6.7 engine available in the L Series by the end of 2021, initially offering the engine in two ratings: 240 HP and 260 HP.
The B6.7 will be paired with Allison’s 2000 and 3000 Series transmissions.
Starting in 2022, the Cummins L9 engine will be available in Hino’s XL Series model, initially in three ratings: 300 HP, 330 HP and 360 HP. The L9 can be paired with Allison’s 3000 or 3500 Series transmission or an Eaton manual.
“We are thrilled to offer Cummins’ proven B6.7 and L9 engines,” Bob Petz, senior vice president of vehicle and parts sales, said in a release. “The reliability, performance and durability presented with Cummins engines coupled with the award-winning Hino conventional cab will provide our customers the ultimate ownership experience.”
In December, Hino announced that issues with U.S.-required certification of several of its engines has led its board to pause truck production in North America until the end of September 2021.
Cummins has made the B6.7 for nearly 40 years and has sold 13 million of them, according to the Columbus, Ind.-based company.
The latest B6.7 engine includes upgrades that allow for extended engine maintenance intervals, including longer oil drain intervals, more time between fuel filter changes and a completely maintenance-free crankcase ventilation filter.
Also new in 2021, the B6.7 offers advancements in connectivity to find, prevent and resolve issues faster.
Cummins reported the 2021 L9 Productivity Series engines are up to 1.5% more fuel efficient compared with the 2017 models. The 2021 L9 Performance Series engines will see up to a 3.5% fuel economy improvement.
Meanwhile, the company said it was redirecting engineering and other resources to accelerate the development of the battery-electric vehicle portion of Project Z, the company’s development path to zero-emission vehicles.
Hino is now planning to begin low-volume production of the BEV models in the fourth quarter of 2022, ramping up to full production by the end of 2023.
Hino had previously announced plans to develop and produce a full range of Class 4-8 battery electric Trucks by 2024.
Hino noted other collaborations on powertrain strategies with Cummins were under evaluation.
One financial analyst said Hino’s shift to Cummins engines when fully ramped would add 11,000 units between the B6.7 and L9 engines for Cummins.
The announcement builds on prior wins, Stephen Volkmann, an equity analyst with Jeffries Financial Group Inc., wrote in a note.
Driving forward together: @Daimler Truck AG & @Cummins have announced a joint global plan for medium-duty commercial vehicle engines. As part of the strategic partnership, Cummins Inc. will establish an engine plant in the @MercedesBenz Mannheim campus https://t.co/nqXTAZOyCE pic.twitter.com/f768cgPIOY — Daimler Trucks & Buses (@DaimlerTruckBus) February 23, 2021
Cummins, within the past few months, announced agreements with Isuzu Motors and Daimler Trucks AG that “will add light- and medium-duty volumes to Cummins’ production starting in 2023 and will increase globally as new emission standards are adopted across regions through the end of this decade,” according to Volkmann.
“As a point of reference, in 2020’s depressed-volume year Cummins shipped 92,500 heavy-duty engines globally, 220,900 medium-duty engines and 215,800 light-duty engines to global OEMs,” Volkmann wrote.
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