WARRENVILLE, Ill. — Navistar has become the first truck and bus manufacturer to receive total hybrid vehicle certification from the California Air Resources Board (CARB) for improving fuel economy and overall emissions.
Total vehicle certification for the International DuraStar Hybrid box van and utility truck and the IC Bus CE Series hybrid bus comes as a result of the integration of an optimized engine and hybrid system.
On Friday, April 24, CARB voted to implement a $25 million voucher incentive program as part of California Assembly Bill (AB) 118 to accelerate the deployment of about 1,000 medium and heavy duty diesel hybrid trucks and buses in California. Purchasers of commercial hybrid vehicles under this program will receive incentives ranging from $10,000 to $35,000 per vehicle depending on weight class. In addition, purchasers of CARB-certified International DuraStar Hybrid models and IC Bus hybrid buses will receive vouchers worth another $5,000 per vehicle under the incentive.
“This is a win-win for everyone in California,” said Jack Allen, Navistar president, North American truck group. “By working together we created the opportunity to put more clean diesel hybrid trucks and buses on California’s roads, and we’re proud that Navistar’s hybrid leadership directly puts money back in our customers’ pockets.”
In addition to commercial hybrid trucks, Navistar is an industry leader in hybrid school buses. In August 2007, Navistar’s IC Bus subsidiary delivered the first hybrid diesel school bus to the Napa Valley Unified School District in California. While most diesel-only powered school buses achieve an average of six to seven miles per gallon, the fuel efficiency of the IC Bus plug-in hybrid electric school bus nearly doubled the average to 13 miles per gallon.
AB 118, authored and championed by former California State Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, aims to reduce greenhouse gases from California’s transportation sector, and was signed by Governor Schwarzenegger on Oct. 14, 2007.
