LISLE, Ill. (May 25, 2021) – IC Bus, the leading school bus manufacturer and brand of Navistar, announced today its commitment to safety, technology and electrification through its flagship CE Series bus.

After listening to customers and analyzing the future of the school bus industry, IC Bus is focusing its time, resources and investments around equipping its CE Series with the upcoming safety features, technologies and powertrain choices that best serve customers in the evolving school bus market.

With the most registered school buses in 2019 and 2020, the CE Series is a market leader and a customer preferred bus. The CE Series offers best-in-class driver ergonomics and is a standout in safety and technology by being the first Type C bus with electronic stability control and active collision mitigation standard.

“IC Bus is the school bus brand leader in safety and technology,” said Trish Reed, vice president and general manager, IC Bus. “We are investing in on our flagship CE Series to continue providing customers with the safest, cleanest and most technologically advanced buses into the future. With this renewed focus, it will remain a market leader as the industry moves forward.”

Given the strong push by the current administration to zero emission vehicles, electric school buses are gaining more traction in the industry. While forecasts vary widely over the next few years, consensus believes that by 2030, 30 - 50 percent of new school bus purchases will be electric. IC Bus has spent the last few years preparing its CE Series for electrification. Already available in diesel, propane and gasoline, the electric CE Series was launched late last year. Today, IC Bus is proud to announce more than 100 orders for the electric CE Series, which will be fully constructed at Navistar’s IC Bus manufacturing facility in Tulsa, Oklahoma. With these fuel options, IC Bus provides customers the power of choice when it comes to which CE Series best fits their fleet. 

“When it comes to electric buses, we’re focused on helping customers electrify their fleet the right way,” said Reed. “Different customers have different needs, and we believe a collaborative approach is the best way to determine which fuel choice is best for a customer. From there, we can support customers in successfully implementing that choice into a fleet. This approach has been extremely effective thus far and we’re looking forward to working with other customers as interest in electric grows.”

While electrification is important, safety technology also remains at the forefront of priorities for IC Bus. IC Bus is constantly exploring new safety features to further protect passengers and support the driver. As part of this reinforced commitment, IC Bus will focus solely on supporting its CE Series product with new technologies, enhancing its abilities to bring these safety features to the industry. This commitment will bring technologies that focus on protecting pedestrians around the vehicle and automating various functions, as well as bringing the most advanced collision mitigation systems to the school bus.

This focus on the CE Series will also accelerate the rate that connected technologies are integrated into the school bus. IC Bus has plans to bring the same fleet health monitoring systems from Navistar’s International^® truck brand to its buses, which will help support the needs of transportation directors. IC Bus strives to leverage technology to provide the industry with enhanced safety, productivity and efficiency.

As enhancements come to the CE Series, IC Bus is also dedicated to expanding the capabilities of the Type C CE Series to serve the needs of customers that traditionally use other bus types through changes such as increased passenger capacity. With all future investments directed at the CE Series, the RE Series will phase out with the upcoming 2024 green-house gas standards.

“We are excited to offer customers the support necessary to adapt to changes within our industry and to continue differentiating the industry-favorite CE Series to maintain its leadership position in the school bus market,” said Reed.

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