What Will American Diesels Look Like in the Next Ten Years?
With the push in electrification and customers seeing the benefits of having a partially or fully electric powertrain, diesel manufacturers will have to adapt to these changing demands. It wasn’t too long ago that diesels were the clear choice for customers who wanted to pull heavy things while also getting reasonable fuel economy. Now, one can buy a two door 3.5 EcoBoost that will deliver over 13,000 lbs of towing and fuel economy of over 17 MPG while not towing. This all comes at a much cheaper price with a two door F-150 3.5 EcoBoost starting at well under $40,000 while a comparable Power Stroke starts at around the $40,000 mark.
Around this time last year, Cummins unveiled a hybrid powertrain at IAA Commercial Vehicles Show. According to their official website, “The motor receives electric power from either the battery pack or from the engine-generator. In a parallel hybrid, the engine and electric motor combine to provide the power that drives the wheels. The third mode of electric plus comes online when higher energy is required when the system senses gradient climbing or acceleration for overtaking.” What we can take away is that there is some work being done to push for electrification in diesels. However, there is no word on whether a similar system would make its way into a Ram heavy duty.
Credit: Cummins (Cummins.com)
So what will the landscape of diesel trucks look like in the next ten years? More than likely they will be somewhat electrified. The benefits of electrification are too great to ignore even for the mighty diesel engines. American manufacturers have made it clear that they will push towards more hybrid and electric powertrains in the near future. Ford and GM have kept rather quiet on whether their diesel engines will see electrification but we are willing to bet that one day a Power Stroke and Duramax Diesel will see electrification.
Born and raised in Connecticut, Donovan Webb can be reached at 1.516-531-4021. He is currently attending American International College.