Dana has begun production of its Spicer Electrified eS9000r e-Axle for Class 4 and Class 5 trucks. The e-Axle will be available for ordering by vehicle manufacturers in the third quarter of 2020, the company announced during a Feb. 23 briefing at the annual meeting of the Technology & Maintenance Council in Atlanta.

The manufacturer said it is the first to market with this e-Axle classification in North America and is the only supplier with the in-house capability to manufacture all components of the system, including the gears, axle, motor, and inverter.

The e-S9000r is based on the Spicer S110, S111, and S130 rear drive-axle platforms engineered for medium-duty truck and bus applications. The eS9000r is engineered as a fully integrated e-Axle, including a gearbox and motor, and is easily incorporated into most existing chassis.

Dana said moving the motor to the axle reduces driveline complexity while allowing batteries to be located between the frame rails to simplify truck body positioning.

The power rating for the eS9000r is 237 kilowatts or about 317 horsepower at 650 volts DC for grade startability of 20%. The axle has a patent-pending electronically controlled parking pawl system that eliminates the need for an external solution on vehicles without a traditional transmission.

The weight of the axle assembly including the water glycol-cooled Dana TM4 SUMO LD motor, CO150 inverter, and disc brakes is 815 pounds.

“The electrical componentry replaces the existing axle, driveshaft, transmission and engine, and aftertreatment in a traditional chassis," said Dana Director of Product Planning Steve Slesinski. "This gives our OEM partners some options to put the battery packs either between the frame rails or outside the frame rails."

"The eS9000r e-Axle is built on our distinguished single drive axle and e-Powertrain platform, offering a streamlined electronic propulsion system for increased reliability and efficiency," said Mark Wallace, president of Dana Commercial Vehicle Drive and Motion Systems.

"With an extensive level of electrification activity in Class 4 and Class 5 vehicles, we anticipate this truck class to be the first for widespread deployment and are ready to support our customers with industry-leading electrodynamic solutions," he added.