Navistar and Clean Energy Join Partnership on Natural Gas Trucks

In an effort to spur interest in natural gas as a heavy-duty truck fuel, Navistar Inc introduced a new natural gas strategy, including integrated natural gas product offerings and a partnership with Clean Energy Fuels Corp.

"Natural gas has clearly emerged as the most realistic alternative fuel option for the trucking industry," says Dan Ustian, Navistar chairman, president, and chief executive officer. "Together, Navistar and Clean Energy have come up with a breakthrough program that offers customers a quicker payback on their investment plus added fuel cost savings from day one of operation. When combined with Navistar's dealer network and Clean Energy's fuel distribution system, customers can be confident that bringing natural gas vehicles into their fleets makes good sense."

"Andrew J Littlefair, Clean Energy president and chief executive officer, adds: "We believe the deployment of new, innovative, heavy-duty natural gas engines by world-class original equipment truck manufacturers like Navistar is accelerating the transition to natural gas as a game-changer for heavy-duty trucking. We welcome the opportunity to work with Navistar to bring the benefits of clean, cost-effective, domestically abundant natural gas to the company's trucking customer base."

Navistar officials say the company will offer the broadest range of Classes 6-8 compressed natural gas (CNG)/liquefied natural gas (LNG)-fueled trucks. For its part, Clean Energy will provide a comprehensive CNG/LNG fueling solution to meet customer demands and aid in bringing new customers into the natural gas market.

Navistar and Clean Energy will work closely with Navistar's commercial truck dealers and fleet customers on the deployment of natural gas powered trucks and a natural gas fueling support system. Together, the companies will demonstrate how a natural gas integrated vehicle offering with the right distribution and fueling solution can be integrated into a fleet's operations to reduce costs and drive efficiencies.

The strategic partnership should help accelerate the adoption of natural gas technologies by making it easier for customers to invest in the new technology, including incentives aimed at neutralizing the cost difference for the diesel fuel equivalent for those that purchase at least 1,000 diesel gallon equivalents of natural gas each month.

Navistar's natural gas vocational trucks include the International DuraStar and WorkStar trucks powered by the natural-gas-fueled MaxxForce DT, developed in conjunction with Emissions Solutions Inc. In the Class 7/8 vocational range, Navistar will offer the Cummins-Westport ISL-G in the International TransStar and WorkStar models. Additionally, Navistar will enter Phase II development with Clean Air Power Ltd on the diesel pilot injection LNG-fueled Maxxforce 13-liter engine that will be offered in the International ProStar, WorkStar, and PayStar vocational truck models. Launch date for the LNG-fueled MaxxForce 13L is mid-2013.

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