05/13 16:07 =DJ Navistar Unveils Electric, Zero-Emission Truck
SAN FRANCISCO (Dow Jones)--U.S. truck maker Navistar International Corp. (NAV) said Thursday it will deliver its first electric truck to FedEx Corp. (FDX) and deliver 400 of the vehicles by the end of the year, thanks, in part, to stimulus funding provided last year by the government.
Navistar's eStar model is the first medium-duty commercial vehicle to receive the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's clean-fuel fleet vehicle certification and the California Air Resources Board's certification as a zero- emission vehicle, the company said.
U.S. lithium-ion battery maker A123 Systems (AONE) is providing the batteries for the Star trucks. The Star can travel 100 miles on a single electric charge, and charging the battery takes about six to eight hours, Navistar said.
"We have brought the Star to market to meet the needs of responsible customers who strive to have a positive impact on the environment through energy efficiency," Shane Terblanche, Navistar's general manager for electric vehicles, said in a statement.
FedEx said it would test the vehicle as part of its Los Angeles fleet.
Last August, President Barack Obama visited Navistar's Indiana factory to announce the company had been awarded a $39.2 million federal stimulus grant to build electric trucks.
The government set aside about $5 billion in grants for electric vehicle technologies to stimulate job growth, support the domestic vehicle industry and "develop cost effective solutions to reduce our dependence on oil," said Matt Rogers, a senior advisor to Energy Secretary Steven Chu.
A123 was awarded a nearly $250 million stimulus grant to improve battery manufacturing at two Michigan factories.
General Motors Corp. (GM) received grants totaling about $240 million, Ford Motor Co. (F) received $93 million and Chrysler LLC received $70 million to support manufacturing of electric vehicles, according to the DOE.
Navistar estimates that each Star truck can reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by up to 10 tons of carbon dioxide a year.
-By Cassandra Sweet, Dow Jones Newswires; 415-439-6468; cassandra.sweet@ dowjones.com
SAN FRANCISCO (Dow Jones)--U.S. truck maker Navistar International Corp. (NAV) said Thursday it will deliver its first electric truck to FedEx Corp. (FDX) and deliver 400 of the vehicles by the end of the year, thanks, in part, to stimulus funding provided last year by the government.
Navistar's eStar model is the first medium-duty commercial vehicle to receive the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's clean-fuel fleet vehicle certification and the California Air Resources Board's certification as a zero- emission vehicle, the company said.
U.S. lithium-ion battery maker A123 Systems (AONE) is providing the batteries for the Star trucks. The Star can travel 100 miles on a single electric charge, and charging the battery takes about six to eight hours, Navistar said.
"We have brought the Star to market to meet the needs of responsible customers who strive to have a positive impact on the environment through energy efficiency," Shane Terblanche, Navistar's general manager for electric vehicles, said in a statement.
FedEx said it would test the vehicle as part of its Los Angeles fleet.
Last August, President Barack Obama visited Navistar's Indiana factory to announce the company had been awarded a $39.2 million federal stimulus grant to build electric trucks.
The government set aside about $5 billion in grants for electric vehicle technologies to stimulate job growth, support the domestic vehicle industry and "develop cost effective solutions to reduce our dependence on oil," said Matt Rogers, a senior advisor to Energy Secretary Steven Chu.
A123 was awarded a nearly $250 million stimulus grant to improve battery manufacturing at two Michigan factories.
General Motors Corp. (GM) received grants totaling about $240 million, Ford Motor Co. (F) received $93 million and Chrysler LLC received $70 million to support manufacturing of electric vehicles, according to the DOE.
Navistar estimates that each Star truck can reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by up to 10 tons of carbon dioxide a year.
-By Cassandra Sweet, Dow Jones Newswires; 415-439-6468; cassandra.sweet@ dowjones.com
