Cummins Unveils Next-Generation X15 Series
This story appears in the Aug. 8 print edition of Transport Topics.
EAST LIBERTY, Ohio — Cummins Inc. unveiled its 2017 engine lineup here, the new X15 series, with efficiency and performance models, as well as a new X12 planned for 2018.
The independent engine maker demonstrated the power plants for journalists July 22-23 at the Transportation Research Center and said there are numerous enhancements over its current ISX models.
Neil Abt/Transport Topics “This isn’t just rebranding,” said Jim Fier, vice president of engineering. “The new engines and new name mean a new era at Cummins.”
The engines focus “on productivity — each optimized for specific duty cycles and applications,” Srikanth Padmanabhan, president of Cummins’ engine business, said in a statement.
The 15-liter engines have undergone the largest field test in the Columbus, Indiana-based company’s history — more than 9 million miles — and will be in full production at the plant in Jamestown, New York, at the start of next year. The engines all meet the Jan. 1, 2017, federal greenhouse-gas regulations.
Cummins said the 2017 base engine provides a 3% fuel economy gain over 2016 models, and the X15 efficiency series has about a 10% advantage over the ISX 15 from 2012 with the aid of predictive cruise control and SmartCoast functionality.
The X15 performance series is configured for heavy-haul and vocational trucks, with a 485-to-605 horsepower ratings range and peak torque of up to 2,050 pound-feet, while the X15 efficiency series is tailored for linehaul and regional applications, with a 400-to-500 hp range and up to 1850 pound-feet of peak torque available at 1,000 rpm, according to the company.
Cummins said the X15 extends oil-drain intervals as high as 80,000 miles for trucks running at 6.5 miles per gallon or more, with OilGuard, an analysis program to be introduced by the company. Executives also touted enhanced engine braking as well as the Single- Module aftertreatment offering designed by the company’s Emissions Solution division. The one-piece design is up to 40% lighter and 60% smaller.
Additionally, X15 uses “over-the-air” programming and customization when connected to a telematics system through Cummins Connected applications. During the event, managers demonstrated an engine-calibration update using a new web portal. That “updated” truck was part of a ride-and-drive the following morning.
Amy Boerger, vice president of the North American engine business, said more than 45,000 trucks are connected by Cummins, and a number of additional enhancements are under development, making it still easier to make adjustments, even when a truck is “out on the road for a long time.”
Meanwhile, the X12, at 2,050 pounds, is at least 150 pounds lighter than its next-closest competitive engine, Cummins said. It is rated up to 475 hp and provides up to 1,700 pound-feet of torque. The engine shares key components with the X15 and is targeted for regional, intracity delivery and vocational trucks.
The X12 Series will be in full production in 2018, following the completion of extensive field testing.
Cummins noted the ISX12 G engine, made with Westport Innovations, will continue as the heavy-duty platform for natural gas.
Separately, on Aug. 2, Cummins reported its second-quarter net income was $406 million, or $2.40 a share, down from $471 million, or $2.62 a year earlier.
Revenue of $4.5 billion fell 10% from the same quarter in 2015, with lower truck production in North America among the most significant drivers of the decline, the company said.
“We made strong progress in our cost reduction initiatives in the second quarter, while continuing to invest in and launch new products that will drive profitable growth in the future,” Tom Linebarger, Cummins chairman and CEO, said in a statement.
Cummins said sales dropped 14% in its engine segment, while on- highway revenues declined 15%.
The company lowered its full-year earnings guidance to be down 8% to 10%, compared with its previous guidance of a 5% to 9% decline.
The company maintained its 2016 market share guidance of 27%-30% for the North American heavy-duty market and 74% in the medium-duty sector.
Michael Baudendistel of Stifel, Nicolaus & Co. said in a research note, “We did not find that reduced revenue outlook to be terribly surprising given continued weakness in North American on-highway markets and global off-highway markets.”
He added the company had received an “unexpected boost” from an increase in Chinese truck production at the end of the second quarter.
Staff Reporter Roger Gilroy contributed to this story.
