At St. Petersburg International Gas Forum 2022, Sergey Kogogin, General Director of KAMAZ PTC, delivered a report on “Development of KAMAZ Vehicles Production” and told about the company’s plans to further develop the family of gas vehicles.
SPIGF 2022 gathered leading experts to reach new joint initiatives, discuss challenges facing the industry and determine further ways for its development. Among the speakers was Sergey Kogogin, Director General of KAMAZ PTC, who shared his plans for the development of gas trucks production under present-day conditions.
As the head of the top Russian machine-building enterprise noted, at present, road transport is at the stage of a global transition from a monopoly of liquid fuel to a polygamy of energy sources, therefore KAMAZ is actively working to develop and organize the production of appropriate vehicles. At the same time, according to the Institute for Energy Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences, natural gas will dominate over all available alternatives to traditional fuel in the transport sector of the Russian Federation.
“Gas-engine vehicles have proven their tenability and efficiency to become a full-fledged alternative to diesel versions. Moreover, greatly increasing is the need to switch to the widespread use of NGV fuel under current trying economic circumstances. It helps continue implementing the Low-Carbon Development Strategy at minimal cost, not to bring the emission standard of produced trucks lower than Euro 5, due to simple engine design, neutralization systems and availability of all necessary components,” said Sergey Kogogin.
In addition, the widespread use of NGV fuel makes it possible to partially compensate for the reduction in natural gas exports by an increase in domestic consumption. For example, the replacement of only 10% of diesel freight trucks with natural gas trucks ensures more than 3.5 billion cubic meters of annual natural gas consumption.
“KAMAZ PTC has created mass production of a wide range of vehicles and buses using both compressed and liquefied natural gas. The production volumes of KAMAZ gas-powered vehicles are on the rise: the fleet of natural gas vehicles and buses manufactured at the enterprise is already approaching 17,000,” the head of KAMAZ cited the figures.
The speaker noted that the company, in the shortest possible time, had basically solved the problems caused by Western sanctions. Timely measures were taken to replace imported components of products with analogues of Russian manufacture. It resulted in a sustainable output of a serial line.
On this foundation, the company continued to implement plans for the development of gas-powered vehicles, which provide for the completion of production of K4 generation vehicles, the modernization of K3 generation vehicles using an alternative component base, as well as the development and commercial production of K5 generation vehicles. Taking into account the high demand for all-wheel drive K3 gas-powered vehicles, the enterprise developed upgraded versions of these models with the KAMAZ V8 gas engine as a matter of priority, and the launch of their production is scheduled for as early as October.
“The future of KAMAZ is connected with the generation of K5 vehicles which have already rightfully taken their place in the premium segment on the Russian market. Taking into account that the use of gas motor fuel is a strategic priority for the company, the development and commercial production of diesel and gas models of the K5 generation are being carried out simultaneously,” Sergey Kogogin said.
The company’s immediate plans include bringing the most popular LNG-powered KAMAZ-54901 long-haul tractors, as well as CNG-powered KAMAZ-65657 and KAMAZ-65658 transport vehicles to market at the end of 2023. These models use a modern localized cab and a KAMAZ R6 gas engine generating up to 450 hp the high-tech production of which is organized at the enterprise.
Gas-powered vehicles of the transport line have a wide range of applications, their modernization is also being completed, the start of production is scheduled for November 2022. These vehicles are equipped with a KAMAZ V8 gas engine and a localized gearbox 1310 TO.
NEFAZ PTC, a subsidiary of KAMAZ, produces a wide range of modern large-class city and suburban buses running on natural gas. Currently, work is also underway to replace their components with alternative available products. As part of the development of the gas-powered buses line, an articulated bus of an extra large class KAMAZ-6299 running on CNG is being created. R&D is to be finished in 2023, and the start of production is scheduled for 2024.
“NGV fuel is a real tool for solving economic problems and improving the environment in the current conditions,” summed up the general director of KAMAZ. “The development of the range of gas-powered vehicles remains a priority strategic direction for the company.”
Two items from the list of vehicles announced in the report are presented at the stand of KAMAZ PTC – a KAMAZ-54901 LNG-powered tractor and a KAMAZ-6250 (4x4) LNG-powered bus.