A new light-duty commercial truck suitable for urban deliveries and other work could help companies save fuel and prevent emissions. Navistar unveiled its latest offering Sept. 30 in Washington, D.C., showing the vehicle to Congressional members.
Navistar will slowly ramp up production of the trucks, which are similar to the one pictured above. About 400 are to be produced in 2010 at a factory in Elkhart, Ind., according to a press release.
This is one of the first all-electric commercial trucks. Earlier this year, members of Congress were shown an array of hybrid commercial trucks.
Navistar credits its progress to a $39 million U.S. Department of Energy grant.
The company also has developed diesel-electric hybrids, such as the International DuraStar truck and the IC Bus CE Series plug-in hybrid school bus.
Demand for electric commercial vehicles is starting to build.
FPL Group Inc. and Duke Energy Corp. intend to invest $600 million in up to 10,000 electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles by 2020.
