Commercial vehicle OEM Navistar highlighted how its electric vehicle offerings are accelerating the adoption of sustainable mobility for its customers, including the announcement that the International eMV Series now has factory-installed ePower and electric power take-off (ePTO) electrical system options available.
“Last month, our International truck and IC Bus electric vehicles passed a major milestone, logging 1 million miles driven. This equates to a reduction of carbon emissions by more than 800 metric tons,” said Göran Nyberg, executive vice president, commercial operations, Navistar. “We are committed to the accelerated adoption and development of battery electric vehicle solutions to best serve our customers’ needs while committing to a more sustainable future for all.”
With the availability of the ePower and ePTO electrical system options, fleets can spec International eMV Series Class 6 and 7 battery-electric trucks for additional market applications. The ePower electrical system option pulls power directly from the electric vehicle’s battery pack and is the foundation for electric transport refrigeration unit applications.
Navistar also announced a newly formed partnership with integrated infrastructure solutions partner Quanta Services. The two companies will provide International Truck and IC Bus customers with a comprehensive vehicle and charging infrastructure solution that enables fleets to implement battery-electric vehicles quickly and efficiently.
“Our electric vehicles are only as strong as the grid that powers them,” said Mathias Carlbaum, President and CEO, Navistar. “The differentiator of this partnership is Quanta’s ability to complete site construction and utility work. This allows our team to offer the customer a one-stop-shop approach to all aspects of an EV transition.”
The OEM also highlighted the efforts of some of its IC Bus customers who have already begun electrifying their school bus fleets.
“IC Bus has emphasized from the beginning that bus is the perfect use case for electric, which is why we leaned so heavily into making it feasible for our customers,” said Justina Morosin, general manager and vice president, IC Bus. “The driving factor has been front and center: a cleaner transportation option for North America’s millions of schoolchildren.”
Examples of these efforts include:
- Moorpark Unified School District in California has received several EV buses and grant application assistance from IC Bus. The school district is in the process of purchasing more IC Bus electric buses with two grants they were recently awarded.
- Moreno Valley School District in California operates 42 IC Bus electric CE Series buses to transport 3,100 children to 42 area schools. All EV school buses were upfitted with special features, such as wheelchair lifts, to transport children with disabilities. Moreno Valley’s own sustainability goals as a district drove it to jumpstart the EV adoption process.
- Elk Grove Unified School District in California runs a fleet with both regular and specially outfitted special needs electric CE Series buses. Juggling the day-to-day operations of running a fleet of buses while upgrading to cleaner technology has been made easier with the help of IC Bus.
- School District 20 in rural British Columbia, Canada has a fleet of electric CE Series buses operating in its challenging terrain of mountains and snow. The district, which is in an area nearly devoid of electric mobility infrastructure, receives continual support from the IC Bus team to make the deployment a success.