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E-mail	Print	Subscribe to magazine		March 10, 2010

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Navistar Joint Venture to Build Electric Trucks in 2010

December 3, 2009

Navistar inked a deal with British electric-truck maker Modec Ltd. to build Class 2c and Class 3 electric trucks. The Navistar-Modec EV Alliance, LLC., supported by a federal stimulus grant of $39.2 million, expects to produce about 400 of the two-ton trucks in 2010 at Navistar's facilities in Wakarusa, Ind.

Modec designed the trucks from scratch to be electrically driven. Intended for urban applications involving heavy stop-and-go driving, the lithium ion batteries will deliver about 100 miles of range on a single charge. Modec has been selling trucks since 2007 in the UK. Field use of its vehicles there, governed to a 50-mile-per-hour top speed, confirms battery performance. A fully discharged battery recharges on standard three-phase electricity in about eight hours.

For the time being, Navistar is saying nothing more than can be found in the linked press release, declining to comment on configurations, production schedules or the cost of the electric trucks. But Navistar showed a truck to Congress in early October with a GVW of 12,000 pounds and payload capacity of 3,600 pounds. Standard models available from Modec in the UK include a bare chassis with cab, drop-side, and box van. Specialty options include a refrigerated van, lift gate, and dump bodies. Modec typically adds an independent energy source to power accessories.

An October 2008 WhatVan.co.uk interview with Modec sales director Roger Atkins reported a retail price in the UK of £55,000, which translates to more than $91,000 at today's exchange rate. Recharging cost was said to break down to less than 12 cents per mile. If the Navistar joint venture meets its production expectations, it will probably more than double Modec's 2008 volume, so vehicle pricing here may be significantly lower.

“This vehicle is road ready for fleets to implement as a practical solution for many applications, says Dee Kapur, president, Navistar Truck Group. “We already have interested customers, including some of the most respected names in the industry.” 

“Working with Modec is another example of Navistar’s strategy of growth through leveraging our own assets and those that others have built,” says Kapur. 

Navistar estimates that each zero-emissions electric truck could prevent as much as 20,000 pounds of carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere annually when compared to a truck with a similar duty cycle burning fossil fuels.

Electric medium-duty competitors expected to start selling vehicles in 2010 include Electric Vehicles International, in partnership with Freightliner/Daimler, and Smith Electric Vehicles.

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E-mail	Print	Subscribe to magazine		March 10, 2010

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