Cat “to Unveil” New Line of Vocational Trucks at CONEXPO

Last October, Navistar and Caterpillar announced a joint venture to create a line of Caterpillar-branded vocational trucks. We’ll finally get our first look at them…Next year. Caterpillar will unveil the first model in its full line of Cat Vocational Trucks, the Cat CT660, at CONEXPO on March 22, 2011.

“We coupled customer input with our knowledge learned from years of experience working closely with different industries to meet their heavy equipment needs to identify the ideal standard options for various industry applications,” said George Taylor, Director and General Manager of the Cat Global On-Highway Department. “We will deliver a line of vocational trucks that our customers want, knowing they are built for a wide variety of jobs.”

The Class 8 trucks will be sold and serviced exclusively through the Cat North American Dealer network, with production beginning after CONEXPO for customer delivery later in the year.

To develop its first line of trucks, Caterpillar leveraged its industry-leading technologies, extensive knowledge of worksite and operator environments gained from meeting the heavy equipment needs of a wide range of industries. The trucks will offer custom solutions for a large variety of job applications — from moving rock and hauling trash to logging and pouring concrete.

Caterpillar will offer the heavy-duty Cat Vocational Day Cab Trucks with a full range of popular engine ratings and torque capability options. The specs are designed explicitly for customers’ demanding applications and include a Cat CT11 engine with ratings from 330 to 390 bhp, a Cat CT13 with ratings from 410 to 475 bhp and, coming in 2012, a Cat CT15 with ratings from 435 to 550 bhp.

Strategy/Dealer Development Manager Ed Cullen has been working closely with Cat dealers as they’ve been gearing up to support the new trucks with bumper-to-bumper service. Cullen has also been communicating truck options and features and benefits to dealerships, so they are well prepared to consult with customers during the sales process.