Cummins Reportedly to Move Toward Hybrids and Electrics

The Cummins brand is one of the most iconic names when it comes to diesel powertrains, but given the direction that the automotive market has gone in the last few years, it should come as no surprise that the company has announced it will be moving towards producing electrified powertrains including both hybrids and full EVs. Autoblog reported that in a recent conference call with a Cummins representative, they stated they plan on releasing a fully electric powertrain by the end of 2019, with a range-extended electric powertrain coming the following year. The rep also suggested that the early applications for these powertrains would be in buses and delivery vehicles, with other applications such as pickup trucks coming later. This may come as somewhat of a surprise to many, but given the way the market has been trending in recent times, with the growing availability of electric components and tougher emissions regulations, it makes complete sense for the company to slowly move towards that direction. However, the same Autoblog report did say that after talking to a chief technical officer for Cummins, it is expected that diesel will continue to play a significant role for the company moving forward, and pure diesel Ram and Nissan pickups should be available for the foreseeable future.