Following the launch of an innovative manufacturing plant in San Antonio for conventional diesel and battery-electric vocational trucks, Navistar announced Wednesday that it is ready to construct an integrated powertrain for itself and its Traton Group brothers in Huntsville, Alabama.
Navistar announced the expansion of its engine factory in 2019. The original $125 million investment is now worth more than $190 million.
The integrated powertrain, which was initially described as a diesel product, will be able to expand thanks to a modular design. Wednesday, Navistar supplied no new information.
Integration could refer to a battery-powered Class 8 truck’s electrified powertrain, which would include traction motors, an inverter, and other components. It would be based on the International LT, Navistar’s premier over-the-road truck. Navistar’s A26 diesel engine, which powers the LT and other models, is manufactured in Huntsville.
The integrated powertrain is a “road to sustainable transportation.”
“With this integrated powertrain, we will set a new level of efficiency for our customers, contributing to our road to sustainable transportation,” stated Michael Grahe, Navistar executive vice president, operations, in a news release. Traton recently boosted its anticipated electrification spending to $3 billion by 2026.
The corporation refused to make executives available for interviews about the integrated powertrain. Its first electric model, the Class 6 eMV series, is being constructed in San Antonio alongside regular diesel MV models.
In February 2020, Navistar broke ground on a 110,000-square-foot expansion of the Huntsville factory. The additional $65 million will be used to support increasing manufacturing options for the company’s expansion.
Scania is likely to be the first to arrive in North America.
Traton’s $3.7 billion acquisition of Navistar in 2021 paved the way for the Volkswagen AG subsidiary to begin marketing Scania and MAN goods in North America. Scania mining trucks will be the first goods in Canada. The Scania project was announced by Navistar in late 2019 at the North America Commercial Vehicle show.
Traton, previously the Volkswagen Truck and Bus Group, struck powertrain and buying alliances with Navistar in September 2016 when it purchased around 16.8 percent of Navistar’s shares for $256 million.
For more than five years, Navistar and Traton worked together to create the integrated powertrain. Thousands of hours of research and development have gone into developing a standard modular system for trucks and buses that can be adaptable to worldwide areas and North America.
Navistar will collect data and real-world input from clients in the United States and Canada using fleet evaluation devices.
