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THE ELECTRIC truck made a debut in the markets, with an Elkhart County assembly line in Wakarusa creating Navistar e-Star electric trucks. The first of these electric trucks was also delivered to first customer FedEx on Thursday. After the fascination with electric and hybrid cars, which showed up at many recent auto shows, this move will incorporate electric vehicles in the large scale transportation industry.
The Navistar e-Star electric trucks, medium duty commericial trucks run on a battery, that can allow them to travel over 100 miles on a single charge. The battery which takes six to eight hours to charge fully, can also be replaced in 20 minutes. Though they reach a top speed of 50 mph, the electric trucks can significantly affect the auto industry scenario, what with the rise in International petrol prices.
There are many domestic benefits that the Navistar e-Star electric trucks are expected to bring. Apart from lessening the deficit brought on by importing fuel, it has the potential to bring a rise in jobs, especially in similar, green technology based industries.
The electric truck project was made possible after a stimulus grant by the Obama administration. Navistar got a $39 million grant from the stimulus program to create the electric trucks. In the process of setting up the production plant, they promised to create 700 jobs. Though in the initial production stage till now, only six more people were hired, but as production revs up, more are expected to be created.
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