Dana to supply Electric Powertrain systems to two medium-duty truck manufacturers

Dana Incorporated announced it is partnering with a major North American commercial-vehicle manufacturer to supply complete e-Powertrain systems for a medium-duty vehicle program beginning next year.

The new trucks will feature Dana's Spicer Electrified powertrain technologies and are expected to be on the road in early 2021.

Separately, Dana has also secured a new e-Powertrain development project with a leading truck manufacturer. The announcement was made at the North American Commercial Vehicle show.

The company announced a medium-duty vehicle programme, consisting of a complete electric powertrain system that is fully designed, integrated, and upfitted to the customer's chassis by Dana. The three-year programme is expected to generate approximately $200 million in incremental sales to Dana, with vehicles available for order from the manufacturer in the second half of 2020.

Configured as a direct drive system, which uses a motor to power a Dana-provided axle and driveshaft, the trucks will feature Dana's complete e-Powertrain system, which consists of a Spicer Electrified e-Propulsion system, comprising a Dana TM4 motor and inverter; a Spicer Electrified e-Power system, which generates, stores, and manages the energy for the vehicle. This system consists of the battery packs, battery management system, on-board charger, power electronics cradle, and electrified auxiliary systems; and Dana-developed software and controls that will enable the diagnostics and telemetry of the system, as well as thermal management.

Dana is partnering with a second truck manufacturer on an electrified vehicle development platform that will incorporate a Dana TM4 SUMO HP motor. Ideal for high-power applications, this motor is purposely developed for both hybrid and battery electric configurations.

“The recent acquisition of Nordresa, a recognised leader in electric commercial vehicle integration, serves as an enabler for Dana to expand the development and integration of clean, electric powertrains to deliver higher efficiency and lower cost of ownership,” said Mark Wallace, President of Commercial Vehicle Drive Technologies for Dana. “These new vehicle programmes leverage Dana's complete e-Powertrain products and capabilities, while demonstrating our ability to deliver end-to-end turnkey electric systems for our customers, which will, in turn, provide Dana profitable growth through electrified system sales.”

To date, Dana's e-Propulsion technologies have been featured on more than 16,000 commercial vehicles globally and have been driven more than 600 million miles. This has resulted in the reduction of nearly 160,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide, allowing customers to reduce the use of diesel fuel by nearly 3.5 billion gallons.