Autocar, LLC, a leading manufacturer of severe-duty vocational trucks, has more than tripled its manufacturing delivery. Over the last two years, Autocar has used in-house innovations to overcome COVID-era supply chain shortages which had uniquely impacted production of its hand-built, high-custom trucks. The company reports it is now achieving customer delivery expectations on new orders and fulfilling first-time yield requirements.
Leveraging its team's custom engineering expertise and ingenuity, Autocar introduced a range of pioneering initiatives to deliver quality and reliability for its customers across its production platforms. Designed with the goal of creating "raving fans" for its heavy duty truck customers, these measures have enhanced efficiency, sustainability and production delivery.
"At Autocar, we pride ourselves on our grit – a customer obsessed culture built on the relentless pursuit of custom performance and durability within the severe-duty vocational sector," said Andrew Taitz, Chairman of Autocar. "Global supply chain issues hit our company hard. We depend on having every part in sequence before moving a hand-built truck down the line and getting it out the door. Every truck is custom engineered according to each customer's specifications, meaning no two orders are completely identical. You're talking about roughly 2,600 parts that make up our typical trucks and receiving those parts from all corners of the world just in time for production for a particular fleet of trucks.
"When our backs were against the wall, we fought our way out of the corner by looking inward with innovation and a reliance on our own teams to get it done," Taitz said.
"Our delivery performance has improved since last year with our in-house innovations like using Artificial Intelligence and data analytics to predict parts shortages," Taitz said. "By bringing critical and complex processes in-house, Autocar has not only streamlined production but has also significantly reduced dependency on external and overseas supply."
On the EV side, Taitz said in-house EV innovations have helped Autocar ramp up E-ACTT deliveries, ensure they are performing in the field, and position the company for new growth in OEM designed and delivered EV terminal tractors. He said Autocar's EV innovations include building its own electric harness assembly and power distribution units, as well as creating a battery subassembly production line at the Birmingham plant. "We keep gaining new EV customers, and we also now provide a one-stop solution for electrifying fleets at distribution centers, inland ports and other logistics facilities."
Taitz said innovations also continue to improve Autocar's traditional truck business. Developments include expanding Autocar's ACMD cabover range for fleets that require a class 6 medium-duty (non-CDL) truck, and the upcoming Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) 2.0 feature planned for Q3 this year.
"We're really proud of the launch of our new DC-64T™ severe-duty truck. We haven't produced a tractor in more than 20 years. For truckers, the Autocar tractor was legendary. Tough, powerful and reliable, it did everything that was asked of it, and more. Now we're building on that legend by introducing the Autocar DC-64T Day Cab Tractor, coming off the production line in the next few weeks. It's truly what we call BADASS®," Taitz said.
"We've redefined the way severe-duty trucks are built by harnessing the power of in-house innovation. From AI to customized electric harness assembly to our advanced battery subassembly, each innovation reflects our unwavering commitment to delivering unmatched quality and reliability. We feel like our focus on customer innovation is propelling us to the forefront of the industry. We will keep pushing the boundaries of what's possible as we deliver our 'Always Up®' promise to our customers," he said.
For more information, visit www.autocartruck.com.
