Navistar International Corp. and partner Volkswagen Truck & Bus have announced plans to jointly develop an all-electric, medium-duty vehicle for the U.S. and Canadian markets.
“We believe the Class 6/7 vehicle is ideal for electric powertrain solutions in the near term, given its abundance of packaging space, and that these vehicles typically run short distances and can depot to recharge at the end of the day,” explains Troy A. Clarke, chairman, president and CEO of Navistar.
“Our alliance with Volkswagen Truck & Bus is allowing us to move much more quickly into electric propulsion, thanks to our ability to leverage their technology investments and components in segments of the market where we’re already a leader,” he adds.
Navistar says it will launch its first medium-duty electric-powered vehicle in late 2019 or early 2020.
Volkswagen Truck & Bus, which owns the Scania, MAN and Volkswagen Caminhoes e Onibus global fleet brands, acquired a 16.6% stake in Navistar in March.
