WARRENVILLE, ILL. MAY 11, 2011 – Navistar’s all-electric truck, eStar™, is being featured in the GE EV Experience Tour. The nationwide tour is educating different industry segments and stakeholders on the emergence of electric vehicles (EV) and the benefits they can provide to businesses, governments and communities. The eStar is among a variety of EV manufacturers showcased during the tour.

“The GE EV Experience Tour is the perfect venue for Navistar to showcase eStar and educate attendees on smart EV options for commercial needs,” said Mark Aubry, vice president sales and marketing, electric vehicles, Navistar. “Tour visitors will experience eStar’s eye catching design and driver friendly features like a 180 degree windshield and easy in and out vehicle access.”

Capable of carrying payloads up to two tons, the eStar medium-duty truck offers features such as a low center of gravity (the battery is between the frame rails, not mounted on top), walk-through cab and a cassette-type battery which allows ease of maintenance and is the perfect design for around-the-clock operation. With zero tailpipe emissions, each eStar truck can potentially reduce greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 10 tons annually. The eStar has a range of up to 100 miles per charge, and can be fully charged in six to eight hours.

Each day-long tour stop features presentations by GE and community leaders, workshops to help stakeholders with EV planning, deployment, and integration strategies, and test drives.

“The tour is an important way for us to engage EV stakeholders nationwide and have a serious dialogue about the economic and environmental advantages of EV deployment,” said Deb Frodl, Chief Strategy Officer for GE Capital Fleet Services.

The tour began in March 2011 and is stopping in six U.S. cities: San Francisco, Seattle, Los Angeles, San Diego, New York and Washington, D.C. 

About eStar™

The eStar transitioned from concept to reality in August 2009, when President Barack Obama visited Navistar's manufacturing plant in Indiana to announce $39.2 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds from the Transportation Electrification Initiative administered by the U.S. Department of Energy. It is the first medium-duty commercial vehicle to receive U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) certification as a clean fuel fleet vehicle as well as California Air Resources Board (CARB) certification as a zero-emissions vehicle.