Navistar Unveils First All-Electric Vehicle of Its Kind

Yesterday Chamber member Navistar, Inc. announced that it will deliver to FedEx the first full-production eStar™ - an all-electric commercial truck. The company expects to deliver 400 units by the end of this year. But this isn't just the first eStar - it's the first medium-duty commercial vehicle to receive U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) certification as a clean fuel fleet vehicle, as well as receive California Air Resources Board (CARB) certification as a zero emissions vehicle!

This Class 2c-3 electric truck—the first in its category—has a range of 100 miles per charge, making it ideal for many urban applications. When it returns to its home base at the end of the day, it can be plugged in and fully recharged within 6-8 hours.

In August 2009 President Obama paid a visit to Navistar's Indiana plant and announced a $39.2 million federal stimulus grant to build electric trucks. Now, less than a year after the announcement, Navistar has successfully tested, validated, developed and delivered prototype vehicles and received EPA and CARB certifications. Today, the eStar meets all Federal Motor Vehicles Safety Standards (FMVSS) and Navistar is now taking orders and building these all-electric trucks.

...Pretty impressive. Apparently the White House thought so, because word on the street is that Navistar received a congratulatory phone call from Vice President Joe Biden yesterday.

To read more about Navistar's all-electric vehicle, click here.