Cummins acquires electric drivetrain startup Brammo to help bring its electric truck to market

Only a few weeks after unveiling their first prototype electric truck, Cummins, better known for their diesel engines, announced that they acquired the battery pack/electric drivetrain manufacturer Brammo to strengthen their electrification effort.

Brammo has been building electric drivetrains and battery packs for years, but it was better known for its performance electric motorcycle, the Brammo Empulse R, until it sold its motorcycle business to Polaris which incorporated it into its Victory Motorcycles brand.

The company continued making battery packs and electric drivetrains for other EV projects, more recently, they developed an impressive 1100 lbs battery pack for the first battery-powered manned helicopter.

Now they are taking their expertise to the well-funded engine giant Cummins.

Tom Linebarger, Chairman and CEO of Cummins, announced the acquisition today:

“To be a leading provider of electrified power systems just as we are with diesel and natural gas driven powertrains, we must own key elements and subsystems of the electrification network. By adding the expertise of Brammo and its employees to Cummins, we are taking a step forward in our electrification business and differentiating ourselves from our competition. As always, when markets are ready, Cummins will bring our customers the right power solution at the right time to power their success.”

Craig Bramscher, Chairman and CEO of Brammo, also commented on the announcement:

“Brammo’s expertise across a broad range of applications uniquely positions us to enhance Cummins’ efforts to be a leader in the electrified power space. We see this as a very exciting opportunity to continue changing the way the world moves and stores power.”

The announcement is especially good news for Cummins’ electric truck program unveiled earlier this summer.

The 18,000-lbs truck featured a maximum payload capacity of 44,000 lbs with a range of 100 miles on a single charge enabled by a surprisingly small 140 kWh battery pack.

It was only a proof-of-concept and Cummins wasn’t exactly clear about its intentions to bring the system to market, but now with Brammo on board to further develop the electric powertrain, their intentions are now fairly clear.

Between them, Tesla, Daimler, VW, and several others developing electric trucks, it looks like this segment of the transport industry is ready for some serious disruption.