Navistar Engine Group, an operating unit of Navistar Inc., has been awarded a development contract by the United States Postal Service (USPS) under which Navistar will engineer a diesel powertrain replacement for USPS’s delivery vehicles. Navistar’s repowered diesel vehicle effort is designed to significantly reduce the escalating service and fuel costs associated with USPS’s aging fleet.
Under terms of the contract, the USPS will deliver one of its Long Life Vehicles (LLV) to Navistar Engine Group’s Melrose Park, Illinois, facility, and the company’s in-house repower engineering department will develop, install and test a diesel powertrain that features Navistar’s MaxxForce 3.2-liter turbodiesel engine. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“When USPS’s current fleet was first put into service, diesel fuel and advanced diesel powertrain technology were not widely available,” said Andrew Dondlinger, vice president, North America Operations, Navistar Engine Group. “Now, by replacing its gas powertrains, USPS could realize diesel’s benefits of fuel efficiency and low service and operating costs.”
A proven diesel repower solution could be used to upgrade up to 50,000 USPS vehicles over the next decade. Navistar five years ago developed a successful LLV diesel powertrain prototype that testing showed lowered fuel consumption by 35 percent. Further savings would be gained from diesel’s lower maintenance requirements, longer service life, and overall lower cost of ownership. Navistar estimates that USPS could realize payback on each repowered vehicle after just two years in service.
Besides Navistar’s history of development work on USPS diesel repower, the company’s reputation as an integrated truck and engine manufacturer and its proven capabilities for on-time, on-budget work for the U.S. military also influenced the contract award.