DTNA urges clarity from EPA on NOx 2027 standards

A Freightliner Cascadia at Daimler Truck North America's High Desert Proving Grounds testing facility in Madras, Ore. (Aaron Perryman/Transport Topics)

MADRAS, Ore. — Daimler Truck North America is pressing the Environmental Protection Agency to finalize its proposed revisions to the nitrogen oxide-emissions rule for model-year 2027 engines, but DTNA emphasized it is prepared to meet the stricter standards.

The EPA is keeping a Biden-era requirement that would reduce NOx emissions to 35 milligrams per horsepower-hour from 200 mg/hp-hr and go into effect Jan. 1. But on July 9, the agency announced in a notice of proposed rulemaking that it is planning changes to the regulations, including reducing warranty requirements and easing compliance standards for new heavy-duty trucks.

Proposed revisions not finalized

In the main amendment, emissions-control equipment warranties would cover 100,000 miles or five years, the prior standard, rather than 450,000 miles or 10 years, as laid out in late 2022 under the original proposed rule.

But DTNA stressed the revisions aren’t finalized, and the manufacturer of Freightliner and Western Star trucks expects them to change.

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Potter 

“In fact, we expect significant changes before the rule is finalized,” Dan Potter, DTNA’s director of compliance and regulatory affairs, said Sept. 24 at the company’s High Desert Proving Grounds testing facility during a media event. “And we are all waiting anxiously for the rule to be finalized, which the EPA has not given us a clear timeline on.”

The EPA held virtual public hearings on the proposed revisions July 29-30 and sought comments by Aug. 29. The agency’s delay is causing uncertainty for customers.

“Unfortunately, this makes things very difficult for all manufacturers because we can’t certify a product to a set of rules we don’t know,” said Potter, who added he has never seen rules change this late at the federal level. “And so we are currently working with the assumption that we will certify our product to the 2027 rules that are on the books. And we will adjust as soon as the new rules are available. We want to make sure we avoid this uncertainty for our customers.”

DTNA says it is prepared for 2027

Whatever ends up in the final rule, DTNA says its Detroit engines are ready for the 2027 rule as written in 2022.

“We believe that meeting the EPA 2027 emission standards is the path forward,” Potter said. “Our engine does not depend on any of these changes. We are ready to go today with that engine.”

DTNA debuted the sixth generation of its EPA 2027-compliant engines in February. The truck maker’s Gen 6 portfolio consists of the 13-liter DD13, 15-liter DD15 and 16-liter DD16 engines. The order book for the DD13 and DD15 engines opened Sept. 1, and production of those engines begins in January. Production of the DD16 follows in January 2028.

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Director of Field Sales Engineering Steve Collins discusses DTNA's Gen 6 engine, set to launch in January. (Aaron Perryman/Transport Topics)

Steve Collins, DTNA’s director of field sales engineering, said the Gen 6 engines have accumulated more than 9 million miles of testing in real-world applications, including longhaul, regional haul, and pickup and delivery.

Collins added that testing for vocational applications was key too, noting the importance of validating the Gen 6 engines in idling and low-load situations. Potter said EPA’s 2027 rule seeks to reduce emissions in those areas and has affected the way DTNA designed the engines.

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A Western Star concrete mixer truck at DTNA's High Desert Proving Grounds. DTNA discussed the importance of vocational applications in testing its Gen 6 engine for the 2027 EPA NOx standards. (Aaron Perryman/Transport Topics)

DTNA supports revisions

Though DTNA says it is ready for the original EPA 2027 rule, it supports most of the proposed changes.

In addition to reducing emissions-equipment warranty requirements, another change would postpone a planned increase to regulatory useful life for three years, to 2030 from 2027, and lower the mileage component to 435,000 miles from 650,000. Regulatory useful life determines how long a vehicle must meet emissions requirements.

“I think [these proposals are] in response to pressure from [original equipment manufacturers] and from trucking associations and from operators of vehicles who are worried about the cost increases associated with the 2027 program,” Potter said. “We believe that EPA’s intention is to reduce costs and add flexibility while keeping the clean air benefits in place, and we are … fully in support of the changes that the EPA proposes in terms of warranty and useful life reduction that we think are going to bring immediate cost reductions to our customers next year.”

Potter said DTNA has historically offered extended warranties at comparable ranges and at a lower cost than would be available if EPA required such warranties.

“We believe it’s better for a customer to be able to choose the warranty they want rather than be forced to buy a specific warranty,” Potter said. “This [higher EPA-mandated] warranty would have come with significant costs. … We believe that this is the right move for the EPA to make, to let this return to a market area where [manufacturers] can compete with each other.”

Also, carriers would save money when paying the federal excise tax on a new truck if the warranty remains at its current level.

“When the extended warranty is optional, it does not need to be covered by the federal excise tax,” Potter said. “When it’s part of the truck, when it’s legally required, it must be covered by the federal excise tax.”

Time is running out

Although DTNA is certain where it stands on EPA’s 2027 NOx rule, the company realizes finalizing the rule would bring clarity for the industry.

“We’re nearly out of time at this point,” Potter said. “Trucks have to be in production in January. So we’re working really closely with the EPA to urge them to complete this rule in a way that’s predictable [and] gives our customers certainty.”