In 2018, the IC Electric School Bus chargE™ toured North America, with the goal of showcasing a concept electric school bus to school bus industry stakeholders and groups focused on clean technologies and innovations. As an early example of Navistar's alliance with Volkswagen Truck and Bus (now known as TRATON), the chargE™ brings together multiple concepts and technologies that will shape the school bus of the future.

 

The future is now

The last stop of the west coast portion of the Electric Bus Tour was at the Advanced Clean Transportation (ACT) Expo in Long Beach, California. In the past, Navistar had participated in the conference, but this is the first time the company showcased some of the innovative technologies that they’ve been working toward. A number of company leaders also had the chance to speak about the opportunity to use electrification and other advanced technologies to drive step changes in the commercial vehicle industry.

"Major leaps forward in connectivity, propulsion and automation are offering commercial truck and bus users the opportunity to achieve new levels of fuel efficiency, safety and productivity," said Darren Gosbee, Navistar vice president, Powertrain and Advanced Engineering. "As a leading OEM addressing a wide range of specialized needs, we believe it's our responsibility to help customers apply these technologies in smart ways that will deliver the most benefit for their particular application."

Check out Episode 3: California Dreaming of the IC Electric Bus Tour where the IC Electric School Bus chargE™ was on display and took to the road at the Advanced Clean Transportation Expo in Long Beach, California.