Yanmar Co., Ltd.’s domestic production of air-cooled diesel engines reached an aggregate grand total of one million units on April 13, 2004. 

Yanmar has been a pioneer of compact, lightweight diesel engines ever since its first compact model was marketed in 1933. The compact air-cooled A Engine arrived in 1957. Yanmar had no air-cooled models for a brief period after A production stopped, but then came the L Series in 1983, which was comparable in size and weight to a gasoline engine. The L gave way to the versatile L-A, which is now active in fields from agricultural equipment to generators, refrigeration units for cool containers and motive power for micro-cars in Japan, Europe, America and around the world. 

In 1993, the L70A was the world’s first direct injection diesel engine to clear the CARB emissions regulations of California. Yanmar’s air-cooled diesel engines are recognized as environmental leaders worldwide, having satisfied all the major standards.

The production of air-cooled diesel engines is now being centralized at Yanmar Italy under Yanmar’s ongoing business restructuring plan, excluding some units made to Japanese domestic specifications. Preparations are also moving forward strongly to satisfy the U.S. EPA Tier 2 regulations that are scheduled to start in 2005.