Navistar will meet EPA engine standards
BY FRANCINE KNOWLES AND DAVID ROEDER Business Reporters fknowles@suntimes.com droeder@suntimes.com July 6, 2012 9:54AM
Updated: August 8, 2012 6:08AM
Lisle-based Navistar International Corp. said it will introduce its next generation clean-diesel engine technology to meet 2010 emission standards and position it to meet greenhouse gas rules ahead of 2014 and 2017 requirements.
Its stock tanked on the news Friday. Shares of Navistar closed down 15.2 percent as analysts voiced concern about the cost of the initiative.
The announcement followed a ruling last month by a U.S. Appeals Court judge that could have forced Navistar to exit the engine business due to its noncompliance with 2010 standards. That could have cost it billions of dollars in revenue and jeopardized thousands of jobs.
The company said it will utilize its so-called In-Cylinder Technology Plus (ICT+) emissions solution.
“Our distinctive solution will leverage the investment and advancement we’ve made in clean engine technology while providing immediate certainty for our customers, dealers, employees and investors,” Navistar Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Daniel Ustian said in a statement.
The technology is similar to what other engine manufacturers use in that it employs urea to cut emissions of nitrous oxide.
By incorporating an already proven and certified system, Navistar said it looks forward to seamlessly offering production-ready vehicles early next year.
Navistar shared its plan with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board, “and both agencies are encouraged by our plans,” Ustian said. “We will continue to work with the agencies to ensure that our customers receive uninterrupted deliveries in all 50 states during this transition.”
The company had been paying EPA fines to keep manufacturing engines that didn’t meet emission standards. But competitors charged the EPA policy of letting the company pay fines and purchase emissions credits amounted to forgiveness for breaking rules that others accepted, leading to the court ruling.
Navistar said it plans to continue to build and ship current model EPA-compliant trucks in all vehicle classes using combinations of earned emissions credits and/or non-compliance penalties during the transition to ICT+.
