Allison Transmission’s FuelSense® 2.0 Software Provides 12 Percent Fuel Savings for Municipal Vehicles in France

July 8, 2020

An independent test carried out by Métropole d’Aix-Marseille-Provence showed that FuelSense^® 2.0 software, developed by Allison Transmission, allowed up to 12 percent fuel savings for some of the French city’s municipal vehicles.

INDIANAPOLIS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Métropole d’Aix-Marseille-Provence carried out an independent test for 18 months, on four refuse vehicles, to assess the performance of Allison Transmission’s FuelSense^® 2.0 software. This test demonstrated the performance of the latest version of this software, with fuel savings of up to 12 percent.

FuelSense 2.0 software was installed in four Renault Trucks D 4×2 vehicles, equipped for refuse collection. “Eco” mode was activated in the software instead of the “Performance” mode, enabling the vehicles to travel an average of 1,200 km (745 miles) per month or 21,000 km (13,048 miles) each during the duration of the test. In addition to the significant fuel savings, CO₂ emissions were reduced on all four vehicles by almost five tonnes, while maintaining vehicle performance.

“The price of fuel encourages us to study all possible solutions to reduce our consumption. By performing this test, we did not expect such savings: 12 percent is more than significant! And the feedback we have from drivers is very positive—the vehicles have kept their performance,” explained Stanislas Kogut-Kubiak, Maintenance Manager at Métropole d’Aix-Marseille-Provence.

Based on this test, the municipality has chosen to install FuelSense 2.0 on 24 other vehicles in its fleet to reduce its fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions.

“Our fleet is made up of 160 refuse vehicles. Every one of them is equipped with Allison transmissions. We have chosen Allison transmissions for a long time and the investment is quickly paid back. Allison transmissions are robust and reliable and rarely require downtime, making maintenance easier,” said Kogut-Kubiak.

The results of this test are consistent with an independent 2019 study conducted by the Fife Council in the United Kingdom. A six-month test was carried out on two Mercedes-Benz Econics refuse vehicles. These vehicles worked in two shifts from Monday to Friday, with different types of waste and traveled 21,000 km (13,048 miles). For six months, the fuel savings on these vehicles averaged 9 percent.

Allison Transmission’s FuelSense^® 2.0 software features DynActive^® Shifting. At the heart of this technology is an intelligent algorithm which continuously assesses driving conditions to best adjust gear changes. This algorithm takes into account different factors, such as vehicle weight, road gradient or the frequency of stops and starts.

About Allison Transmission

Allison Transmission (NYSE: ALSN) is the world’s largest manufacturer of fully automatic transmissions for medium- and heavy-duty commercial vehicles and medium- and heavy-tactical U.S. defense vehicles, as well as a supplier of commercial vehicle propulsion solutions, including electric hybrid and fully electric propulsion systems. Allison products are used in a wide variety of applications, including on-highway trucks (distribution, refuse, construction, fire and emergency), buses (school, transit and coach), motorhomes, off-highway vehicles and equipment (energy, mining and construction applications) and defense vehicles (wheeled and tracked). Founded in 1915, the company is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. With a market presence in more than 80 countries, Allison has regional headquarters in the Netherlands, China and Brazil with manufacturing facilities in the U.S., Hungary and India. Allison also has approximately 1,500 independent distributor and dealer locations worldwide. For more information, visit allisontransmission.com.