Navistar Says ’07s More Fuel Efficient
“At the end of the day, this vehicle is going to cost less [to own and operate] than a similar vehicle did in 2006. And I hope that you’ll come to the same conclusion,” said Daniel Ustian, chairman and chief executive officer of Navistar, the parent of International Truck and Engine Corp., in a speech to members of the Truck Renting and Leasing Association here March 21.
Ustian said tests of International’s 2007 ProStar model, which incorporates a new aerodynamic design, show a 3% to 4% improvement in fuel efficiency. Additional savings are possible with the use of auxiliary power units to reduce idling, he said.
The only downside to the newer models is the price tag, Ustian said. The heavy-duty trucks cost between $7,000 and $10,000 more than last year’s models, and medium-duty trucks are $5,000 and $6,000 higher.
However, those costs, plus the added expense of maintaining new diesel particulate traps and a 7-cent-per-gallon increase in the average price for ultra-low-sulfur fuel, can be offset over the life of the vehicle by improvements in fuel efficiency and durability, Ustian said.
“The pre-buy didn’t need to happen,” Ustian said.
Many fleet operators stocked up on new trucks in 2006 to avoid buying diesel-powered equipment with new emission-control technology this year. Sales of Class 8 tractors, Ustian said, are projected to be down by 25% to 30% as a consequence.
Jim Meil, chief economist for Eaton Corp., said North American Class 8 truck production is projected to fall more than 40% to 218,000 units in 2007, from 378,000 units in 2006.
“The Environmental Protection Agency has re-placed the economy as the agent dictating the tune we are dancing to,” Meil said in a presentation March 22. “We know now when the bad years will be.”
Meil said Class 8 truck output is expected to rebound to 275,000 units in 2008, followed by a “superb” year in 2009, another “lousy” year in 2010 and a three-year process of recovery.
Ustian said equipment-leasing companies, some of which had the opportunity to extensively test the new engines and train their mechanics before the new models were sold, were expected to remain steady buyers of trucks in 2007.
TRALA President Peter Vroom said member firms buy as many as 40% of new medium- and heavy-duty commercial trucks annually.
Looking ahead, Ustian said the technology path International will use to achieve even more stringent emission standards in 2010 had not yet been decided, but he was confident the result would be further improvement in engine performance and fuel economy.
One solution already used in Europe adds urea to the exhaust stream to remove nitrogen oxides.
“I’m not crazy about it,” Ustian said. “A better way is to do it in the engine through cleaner combustion.”
Ustian said technology exists to control the amount of fuel delivered to the combustion chamber electronically, but air supply is “still mechanical.”
Hybrid diesel-electric trucks are “very expensive” and will likely only be sold in small numbers for specialized applications “for a long time,” Ustian said.
