Allison Transmission Holdings Inc. and China National Heavy Duty Truck Group Corp. Ltd. (CNHTC) announced an agreement to explore a strategic partnership to optimise fully automatic transmission technologies for the Chinese market. While the partnership will focus on servicing the Chinese market, Allison and CNHTC also will explore opportunities outside China. In addition to China, CNHTC has a strong presence in South America and has exported products to more than 90 countries.

“The heavy-duty truck market in China represents a major growth opportunity for Allison and we’re pleased to jointly investigate ways to partner with CNHTC in this endeavor,” said Chairman and CEO Lawrence E. Dewey of Allison Transmission. “Their leadership and industry expertise are incredible assets to this collaboration.”

CNHTC was founded in 1935 as China’s first heavy-duty truck manufacturer. The company is headquartered in Jinan, Shandong province. Today, CNHTC specialises in the production of vehicles for a variety of applications, including construction, distribution, emergency and mining.

“We believe fully automatic transmissions are the major development direction in many heavy-duty truck applications in China,” said Chairman Ma Chunji of CNHTC. “After evaluating all available torque converter automatic transmission technologies, we look forward to working with Allison and introducing their product to our customers. They are an industry leader known for impeccable quality and lifecycle value.”

Allison Transmission is the world’s largest manufacturer of commercial duty automatic transmissions and is a leader in hybrid-propulsion systems. Founded in 1915, the company is headquartered in Indianapolis, Ind., U.S.A., and has approximately 1,400 independent distributor and dealer locations worldwide.