Canada Post Adds Navistar's eStar All-Electric Trucks To Its Fleet

Canada Post announced on April 18 it has added the first all-electric step vans in Canada to its fleet, a move following a recent acquisition of fully electric small delivery vehicles. The vehicles were built by Navistar Inc., an American manufacturer of medium and heavy trucks. The eStar, a Class 2c-3 electric truck and the first in its category, has a range of 100 miles (160 kilometers) per charge and can be fully recharged within 6 to 8 hours. The step vans are slated to debut on Canadian roads later in the month.

"Part of our environmental commitment is to evaluate and proceed with alternate fuel technologies that will offer us a return on investment," said Deepak Chopra, Canada Post President and CEO. "Our trucks are in every neighborhood in the country everyday and we take pride in our efforts to deliver to our customers in an environmentally responsible way."

Navistar has been touting the vehicle for its design, specifically intended for purposes of running electric versus having been retrofitted from a fossil-fuel model. The company said the new vans produce zero tailpipe emissions which would remove as much as ten tons of greenhouse gasses from the air annually.

Other features include a windshield which provides nearly 180-degree visibility, a low-floor profile for easy loading/unloading, a significantly lower noise level, and a 36-foot turning radius.

The eStar features a quick-change cassette-type battery that can be swapped out in 20 minutes, enabling around the clock operation for high-usage vehicles. It is capable of carrying payloads up to two tons.

Canada Post has the largest delivery fleet in Canada – over 7,300 vehicles traveling more than 79 million kilometers (or roughly 49 million miles) a year. The company has made investments in researching and testing alternative technologies including ethanol, biodiesel, natural gas, propane, hydrogen, hybrids as well as electric vehicles to reduce the environmental impact of its fleet.

The impetus for the model came 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.

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