Chinese mine haul trucks use Allison

Allison Transmission said several Chinese mining equipment manufacturers have expanded their global presence with the export of trucks equipped with Allison WBD (Wide Body Dump) Series transmissions to South America, Asia and the Middle East.

The company said its WBD Series provides increased productivity, enhanced maneuverability and decreased costs for off-highway mining trucks. Designed for wide body mining dump (WBMD) trucks operating in severe duty-cycles and harsh conditions, Allison 4800 WBD transmissions provide an extended torque range and a higher gross vehicle weight (GVW) capacity. 

Chinese mining equipment manufacturers including Sany, LiuGong, XCMG, PengXiang and Tonly, outfitted their WBMD trucks with Allison 4800 WBD transmissions in the first half of 2023. These trucks were reportedly exported in large quantities to Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Colombia, Brazil, South Africa, the Philippines, Ghana and Eritrea for strip mining and ore transportation.

Equipped with Allison fully automatic transmissions, wide body mining dump trucks manufactured by Chinese OEM LiuGong were exported to Colombia for the transportation of coal. (Photo: Business Wire)

“Allison Transmission is pleased to have maintained a long-term relationship with major mining equipment manufacturers in China. Allison is capable of fulfilling specific requirements from our customers,” said David Wu, managing director, China Sales at Allison Transmission in Shanghai. “In line with Allison’s brand promise, we will continue to provide reliable and valuable propulsion solutions that deliver industry-leading productivity and total cost of ownership.”

Allison said the transmission can perform full-throttle high-torque starts and easy ramp starts, eliminating manual transmission issues such as failures to shift gears on a slope, which could cause the vehicle to skid. In addition, the transmission can automatically and intelligently shift gears in response to changes in road conditions and slope gradient, keeping the engine running without power interruptions and enhancing the vehicle’s uphill dynamics and safety. The integral hydraulic retarder in the transmission assists braking without thermal decay, and when used in conjunction with the constant speed downhill function, prevents over-speeding downhill.

The patented torque converter avoids clutch wear common in manual transmissions and requires only periodic filter and fluid changes to maintain peak performance, said the company, while the hydraulic drive of the torque converter reduces mechanical shocks. The transmission is also equipped with prognostics that provide feedback on its health and maintenance needs in advance. Error codes are displayed on shift selectors.

WBMD trucks operating in harsh environments typically carry heavy loads, and Allison said those equipped with the WBD transmission can handle frequent starts and stops and to avoid potential failures from working around the clock.