Weichai Group, a leader in China's equipment manufacturing industry, launched the world's first commercial diesel engine with a brake thermal efficiency of over 50 percent in Jinan, Shandong province on Sept 16.

At the launch ceremony, authoritative world testing organization TÜV SÜD and China's national internal combustion engine testing organization China Automotive Technology and Research Center both issued test reports to Weichai for achieving a brake thermal efficiency of over 50.26 percent.

Authoritative world testing organizations offer Weichai with test reports for achieving a brake thermal efficiency of over 50.26 percent. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

According to Tan Xuguang, chairman of Weichai Group, the brake thermal efficiency is a measure of the fuel efficiency of internal combustion engines. The higher the brake thermal efficiency is, the less the fuel consumption will be and the better the energy saving and emission reduction performance will be.

Since the world's first diesel engine was developed in 1897, the brake thermal efficiency of the diesel engine has increased from 26 percent to 46 percent after a hundred years of development.

However, despite increasingly stringent emission regulations, improvements in brake thermal efficiency have stagnated.

Weichai Group launches the world's first commercial diesel engine with a brake thermal efficiency of over 50 percent in Jinan, Shandong province on Sept 16. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

"Weichai has been deeply involved in the internal combustion engine industry for more than 70 years, and has a strong technical background in the manufacturing and development of diesel engines by continuously researching key technologies," said Tan.

The company has invested 30 billion yuan ($4.42 billion) in R&D over the past 10 years and recruited global high-end talent to push forward innovation.

It established the world's only R&D and production base with annual manufacturing and sales of more than 1 million units, and achieved breakthroughs in commercial vehicle powertrains, CVT powertrains, and hydraulic powertrains, bridging China's technical shortcomings in these three areas and providing a major boost to China's diesel engine industry chain.

Tan Xuguang, chairman of Weichai Group, delivers a speech at the launch ceremony. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Volkmar Denner, chairman of the Board of Management of Robert Bosch GmbH, said that the new heavy-duty diesel engine that features 50 percent thermal efficiency is an extraordinary achievement.

He said that Weichai and Bosch have enjoyed an excellent strategic partnership over the last 17 years, not only in internal combustion engines, but also in fuel cells, driver assistance systems, and Industry 4.0 solutions.

"We are looking forward to continuing our fruitful collaboration to make commercial vehicles cleaner, safer, and more intelligent. We wish Weichai tremendous market success with this new engine generation and we are grateful for our close partnership."