Navistar testing its electric truck on Elkhart County roads

WAKARUSA — The distinctive-looking vehicle seen prowling around town recently may be a sign that all the talk is finally turning into action.

Navistar has been test driving the all-electric commercial truck it is building as part of a joint venture with Modec Limited of the United Kingdom.

Little has been seen or heard of the project to manufacture 400 advanced battery electric trucks since the Navistar picked up $39.2 million in federal funding in August. However, trips through community streets and at least one journey to Elkhart have stirred a bit of excitement, said town manager Tom Roeder. In fact, one local police officer was so intrigued by the sight of the truck, he followed the vehicle back to the Monaco plant just to find out what it was.

“We kind of want to see it, touch it and feel it,” Roeder said. “Way too much talk in the last year. Now, it’s time for action on everyone’s part. So it’s nice to see something.”

Elkhart County has been touted as a potential hub of electric and hybrid-electric vehicle manufacturing since the economic recession crippled the dominant recreational vehicle industry. The promise of economic diversification and new jobs has been slow in coming, but Navistar and Think North America, which plans to build electric cars in Elkhart, say production is moving forward.

Think, a subsidiary of Think Global based in Norway, is still targeting the first quarter of 2011 to start building the two-seat cars out of the facility on Magnum Drive, according to Keith Takasawa, director of product development. The manufacturer is working through the permitting process with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency so it can make vehicles at the site and has started the putting the autos through crash testing.

The plant continues to be cleared of equipment from the former tenant and has been undergoing some repairs, Takasawa said. Tooling for the car’s production has not started, but the company official stated that will be “relatively simple” since the manufacturing process will not require a weld shop or a paint shop that are part of traditional auto making.

“Everything is in process as planned,” Takasawa said. “We’re happy with the way things are going.”

Working with the Economic Development Corp. of Elkhart County, Think has become very interested in two companies that could potentially be suppliers although neither is in Elkhart County. One is in South Bend and the other is across the border in Michigan.

Navistar’s new vehicle is a work in progress but the company is nearing the start of production, said company spokesman Roy Wiley.

Catching a glimpse of the truck and being invited for a test drive has erased the doubts Roeder said he has had. Primarily he wondered if the vehicle would even be built in his town, given the two largest production facilities are occupied by Monaco.

Yet, he said, the company found a spot for an assembly line on the factory floor and, he believes, has shifted some workers from making motorhomes to building all-electric trucks.

In an extra-exciting development for Roeder, Navistar has entered the truck into the Maple Syrup Festival parade, scheduled for April 17. As it rolls along the parade route, he said, everyone will have a chance to see the vehicle they have heard so much about.