Autocar Industries Introduces Refuse-Ready Medium Duty "Xpert" Truck

INDIANAPOLIS, Nov. 20, 2013 - Autocar is adding another CNG-equipped refuse truck to its roster: the class-7 / "baby 8" Xpert ACMD. Eric Schwartz, Vice President of Autocar Industries, a division of Autocar, introduced the Xpert during the packed 2013 Autocar Natural Gas Symposium in Indianapolis, which drew private and municipal waste haulers from around the country. They were also treated to a first-hand view of the Xpert, whose smaller, more nimble size makes it uniquely ideal for crowded and cramped urban refuse collection.

Now available with the revolutionary Cummins Westport CNG/LNG engine, the cabover Xpert refuse truck was originally launched in 2013 as a diesel truck. It has already gained significant traction among municipal utility providers and private refuse haulers in response to demand for a medium duty truck that is specifically designed to withstand the severe conditions of waste collection. Autocar Industries is utilizing its deep refuse industry knowledge and experience to bring its smaller, more nimble truck to the refuse market.

The Xpert fills a void in the current class-7 refuse market. Waste haulers have long complained of a gap in their urban fleets, as the current conventional cab medium-duty trucks fall short in a number of ways. These trucks are not designed to withstand tough jobs, the chassis wear out too quickly, they are not engineered to integrate with a refuse body, and they offer less driver comfort and visibility.

The Xpert answers these needs by using many of the same toughest-in-class components as the class-8 Xpeditor ACX. The result is the first and only medium-duty truck with severe-service strength on a smaller wheelbase, beating the turning radius of conventional cabs by an average of 8-18% and adding an extra 25 feet of forward visibility. This makes the Xpert not only the highest-performing medium duty refuse truck on the market, but one of the safest as well.

Jim Johnston, President of Autocar, noted that "the medium-duty purpose-designed Xpert refuse truck elegantly fills a void in the current class-7 refuse market. Before the Xpert, waste haulers have been forced to make do with cookie-cutter conventional cab trucks which fall short in the ever-demanding refuse hauling application. The Xpert is designed, tested and specified to withstand the serious refuse hauling that we and our customers know and live every day."