Navistar plant in Escobedo accelerates transition to electric trucks: Oscar Ruiz

Monterrey, NL. La Navistar plant México in Escobedo, Nuevo León, currently has a production capacity of 300 internal combustion-based trucks and three electric trucks per day. Once the expansion of the painting area that will give them volume is finished, the biggest transition challenge to electrical assembly is to do it on the same production line, explained Oscar Ruiz, manager of the assembly plant.

“Currently at the Escobedo plant we are producing 300 internal combustion trucks per day, with this figure I think we are the largest in America; we are also making three electric trucks a day, we are still doing it on the main product line”.

“With the engineering that we have done at Navistar, we are looking for a way to gradually introduce the electric vehicle on the same production line, that will be the biggest challenge in the following years; once we finish with the paint expansion that will give us much more volume.”

There are also logistical challenges inside the plant, because you must have the components to assemble an internal combustion truck, and in the same space assemble the electric truck whose batteries are very large and heavy, and must be moved with great care. .

It should be remembered that in August 2022, Navistar announced that they would start manufacturing two types of electric trucks: EMV model cargo transportation units, and trucks for private fleet, school typeECE model.

Oscar Ruiz noted that the engineering team headed by Michael Grahe, Navistar’s executive vice president of operations, has done a great job trying to save as much as possible to make the assembly line conversion.

Mathias Carlbaum, president and CEO of Navistar, added that there are two or three things that work in favor of the electric vehicle in the long term. Over time, prices drop and productivity increases, but the price will not be the same due to the type of fuel, because when the vehicle is running the cost of electricity consumption versus diesel, plus maintenance will make use more favorable of the electric vehicle.

Sustainability

During the celebration of Navistar’s 25th anniversary, it was mentioned that the American company that arrived in Nuevo León in 1998, and has sought to contribute to sustainability in its operating processes.

Upon express question, Mathias Carlbaum commented that Navistar International Trucks, as part of the TRATON Group -as of February-, has the goal of achieving a 50% reduction in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 2030, and increase the production and sale of electric vehicles and use of fuel such as green hydrogen and reach zero emissions by 2050.

Navistar México began at the Escobedo plant on April 22, 1998, with an investment of 200 million dollars; in 25 years it has invested around 580 million dollars, has 6,200 direct jobs and 3,000 indirect ones. It has 1,000 suppliers, 35% of its production chain is installed in Mexico. The Escobedo plant is the second most important in the world, with an annual production of 880,000 units.