Navistar’s big announcement at the Atlanta Truck Show was that with its equity partner Volkswagen it is in planning to develop a big-bore 15-liter engine for use in International Trucks.
“We believe a proprietary powertrain is important for Navistar, our dealers and our customers,” said Troy Clarke, Navistar chairman, in Atlanta.
“Yet, we also understand the challenges of developing a proprietary powertrain on our own. Navistar and Volkswagen have agreed to collaborate on fully integrated, next-generation diesel big-bore powertrains for North America.”
The powertrains will launch in International heavy-duty products as early as 2021 and will clearly be used in Scania and MAN product as well with all there brands now under the VW umbrella.
Navistar and Volkswagen executives used the show to announce plans to introduce an electric truck by the end of 2019.
Both Clarke and Volkswagen Truck and Bus CEO Andreas Renschler admitted they are surprised at the rapid pace of collaboration and partnership at the one-year anniversary mark of the tie up.
“I would have thought we would still be wrestling with a handful of issues around technical specs on engines or could we put together purchasing processes,” said Clarke when asked where he would have thought the alliance would be after one year. “But that stuff was through in weeks. We feel good about the alliance’s progression.”
Navistar also launched its International HV Series in Atlanta. The HV Series is the first severe service truck available with the International A26 12.4L big bore engine and designed to deliver power, refined driver-features, and improved reliability for a range of vocational applications. Navistar also announced a number of industry-leading advancements to its OnCommand Connection platform, including Live Action Plans, which boasts predictive technology potentially signalling when a part may fail before it actually does.
