Michelin North America, Inc. is partnering with Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) on a key feature of the recently announced Freightliner Cascadia Class 8 heavy-duty truck. Three years in development, the MICHELIN X Line EnergyTM D+ tire will be the featured long-haul drive-tire solution, contributing to the new Cascadia's 5% fuel-efficiency improvement over the 2017 model. With about 35% of vehicle fuel consumption attributed to overcoming tire rolling resistance, the MICHELIN X Line Energy D+ sets new standards for ultra-low rolling resistance in a dual drive tire1 as one of DTNA's key fuel-efficiency building blocks in the new Cascadia.
"The strong partnership with Daimler Trucks North America has resulted in new technology development through a close, collaborative and technical relationship," says Adam Murphy, Vice President, B2B Marketing, Michelin North America. "In 2000, the partnership was key for the launch of the MICHELIN X ONE wide base single tire on the Freightliner Century truck. Michelin also worked with DTNA on the SuperTruck prototype, providing specially formulated low rolling-resistance tires. Our partnership has been rewarding for both parties, and we look forward to this relationship continuing for decades to come."
In 2015, Michelin and DTNA began collaboration through an advanced-engineering project with the objective to reduce the fuel consumption of Freightliner's next-generation Cascadia Class 8 heavy-duty trucks. The project took a holistic-design approach to design an ultra-low rolling-resistance tire for the tractor drive axle that integrated new-vehicle technologies to reduce fuel consumption while maintaining tire wear.
The project combined tire-vehicle performance simulation with experimental validation and yielded a product with the lowest rolling resistance offered by Michelin in a dual-fitment drive tire. The MICHELIN 275/80R22.5 X Line Energy D+ tire will be fitted exclusively as original equipment on the new Cascadia trucks recently announced by DTNA and will be commercialized for the replacement market later in the year.
"Selecting the right tire can play an important role in the fuel efficiency of Class 8 trucks," says Kary Schaefer, General Manager, Marketing and Strategy for Daimler Trucks North America. "At DTNA, we continue to push the limits when it comes to achieving new heights in fuel efficiency, and our continued partnership with Michelin has helped us further improve the new Cascadia's already impressive performance."
(1) Based on external third party rolling resistance tests using ISO 28580 test method in tire size 275/80R22.5 LRG vs. the MICHELIN XDA Energy + reference tire.
