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A Freightliner M2 106 Plus shown with a Cummins B6.7 Octane engine. (Daimler Truck North America)

Freightliner and Western Star customers will be able to choose from six Cummins engines for model-year 2027 trucks, including the first gasoline option Freightliner will make available.

Freightliner has a long history with Cummins, first using the Columbus, Ind.-based company’s engines when the truck maker was launched as a division of Consolidated Freightways in 1929.

Daimler Truck North America said the Cummins engines offer alternatives to the in-house Detroit engines fleets can order as part of their powertrains.

DTNA said customers will be able to choose Cummins’ B6.7 Octane gasoline engine plus the X10 and X15 diesel engines alongside the Detroit Gen 6 lineup launched in February.

Fleets also will be able to pick from the B6.7 diesel and the L9N and X15N natural gas engines.

The B6.7 Octane is Cummins’ first purpose-built commercial-grade gasoline engine. It is designed for medium-duty applications and available for the Freightliner M2 106.

What the B6.7 Octane Delivers

• Diesel-like torque
• A three-way catalyst that eliminates diesel exhaust fluid, active regen and diesel aftertreatment hardware
• 10% fuel-efficiency improvement compared with its gasoline peers

DTNA said the B6.7 engine fills a gap for fleets that want the simplicity of gasoline operation without sacrificing the torque response required in vocational, pickup and delivery, and urban applications.

The B6.7 Octane order book opened March 9, and production for trucks with the engine is scheduled for the third quarter of 2026.

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“Class 6-7 for us is a very important market. We think we have the best product in the industry from a [total cost of ownership] standpoint, and we’re also conscious that pricing is a factor in customers’ decision-making,” Aaron Scates, vice president of vocational and medium-duty market development, told Transport Topics.

“And so, anytime we can offer something that meets … what our customers expect from us, but also allows us to be more competitive in the market, that’s very compelling,” Scates said in an interview from Work Truck Week 2026.

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The X10 uses a 48-volt electrical system to heat emissions-control components quickly during cold starts. (Daimler Truck North America)

The X10, meanwhile, will replace both the L9 and X12 engines in DTNA’s lineup. The engine delivers up to 380 horsepower for medium-duty applications and up to 450 hp in heavy-duty applications. It uses a 48-volt electrical system to heat emissions-control components quickly during cold starts, reducing emissions and supporting compliance with Environmental Protection Agency 2027 nitrogen oxide requirements.

EPA is set to leave in place a Biden-era requirement that nitrogen oxide emissions for heavy-duty trucks drop to 35 milligrams per horsepower-hour from 200 mg/hp-hr. The agency is expected to publish an updated rule in late March.

Detroit Lineup Unveiled

DTNA’s Gen 6 lineup to meet Detroit’s 2027 obligations — unveiled Feb. 19 — comprises the 13-liter DD13, 15-liter DD15 and 16-liter DD16 engines. It is available for all heavy-duty Freightliner and Western Star trucks.

DD13 and DD15 engines will be available starting in January 2027, with DD16 production to follow in January 2028.

The DD series of engines first came on the market in 2007. Successive generations were unveiled in 2010 (Gen 2), 2013 (Gen 3), 2016 (Gen 4) and 2021 (Gen 5).

To meet the EPA 2027 standards, Gen 6 engines use a pre-Selective Catalytic Reduction system, positioned upstream of the primary aftertreatment system (ATS). The system technology, combined with a thermal control valve, helps the ATS reach operating temperature more quickly, reducing the need for parked regens.

Expectations of price increases for EPA 2027-compliant engines are running at about $10,000, market observers say, but Scates said DTNA has not announced prices yet.

Indeed, many carriers may try to negate the price increase by purchasing trucks in advance of the deadline, according to Cummins’ top executives.

Purchase Forecast

Cummins is now eyeing a stronger-than-previously-expected surge of purchases, colloquially known as the pre-buy, after initial expectations were doused in 2025 by uncertainty related to the Trump administration’s trade policies and a consequently delayed rebound in the freight market.

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“It’s quite unusual to have this level of uncertainty this close to a regulatory implementation date. So, the EPA indication late last year … that they’ll move forward with the ’27 NOx rule was an important step to giving more regulatory certainty,” CEO Jennifer Rumsey said Feb. 5 during the engine maker’s fourth-quarter 2025 earnings call.

“We are assuming we’ll see some pre-buy in the second half of [the] year. You know, there’s a combination of the natural coming out of the down cycle for the truck market … that will cause customers to start buying trucks again, and then pre-buy in the second half of the year, but we’re really watching to try to understand how much will that be,” Rumsey told analysts.

Cummins currently expects North American heavy-duty truck production to be between 220,000 and 240,000 vehicles, which it calculated would be flat with 2025 to as much as 10% higher. The company predicts North American medium-duty truck production will range from 110,000 to 120,000 vehicles, also flat to up 10%.