Allison announced the 3414 Regional Haul Series (RHS) transmission at the North American Commercial Vehicle show in Atlanta on Oct. 29, an upgrade variant of Allison’s 3000 Series aimed at mixed-duty fleets that may have trucks doing delivery duty during the day, but longer regional haul runs at night. The company teamed up with Daimler Trucks North America, the first OE to offer the transmission.

The 3414 RHS offers ratings from 370 to 410 hp and 1450 lb.-ft. of torque. The 3414 RHS will provide fleets with 25% faster acceleration 0-20 mph than competitive automated manual transmissions. By leveraging Allison’s xFE technology, which incorporates an internal gear scheme optimized for fuel efficiency, as well as Allison’s FuelSense 2.0 with DynActive  shifting technology, the 3414 RHS will also deliver up to 8% fuel economy improvement.

Allison’s 3414 RHS is a drop-in solution for any chassis with a current Allison 3000 Series option — with the same form, fit, function and connections.

The 3414 RHS will be the lightest transmission in this segment, according to the company, which said it is 11% lighter than the next lightest competitive transmission in the segment.

The 3414 RHS includes a five-year, 750,000-mile warranty, including towing, with no exclusions on individual components.

Beginning in 2020, the Allison 3000 Highway Series will be the standard transmission in the Freightliner M2 112, while the new 3414 RHS will be an available option with the Detroit DD13 engine in the M2 112 and the Cascadia 116 in the second half of 2020.

“We’ve had customers come to us looking for this, looking for slightly higher torque ratings using same packaging footprint they have today,” said Kary Schaefer, general manager, product planning and strategy, for Daimler Trucks North America.

The transmission will be available with both diesel and natural gas engines, and for customers that require a PTO, it will offer an engine driven PTO. Customers can spec a retarder when and where required.

When asked about whether other OEs would eventually offer the new transmission, Allison said it has been working with other North American and global OEMs and that there is “interest across all the OEMs” in North America.