Wabash National says it plans to launch a walk-in cargo van by 2023, adding to its expanding portfolio of home delivery solutions.
Wabash is engaging in rapid development concept and design in collaboration with EDAG Group, a leading engineering services provider to the global automotive and commercial vehicles industry, the manufacturer said. Wabash and EDAG are contributing their expertise in body and cab design, respectively, to create a “next-generation” walk-in van.
“With the introduction of a walk-in van body, Wabash adds a product line critical in supporting key customer efforts to efficiently scale home delivery driven by ecommerce,” said Kevin Page, senior vice president of customer value creation. “The industry-leading breadth of our first-to-final-mile portfolio allows us to offer ease of doing business to our customers and also positions us to partner with customers to develop innovative solutions to solve the biggest problems they face within a rapidly changing logistics environment.
“Our portfolio of solutions, capacity for innovation, and customer-centric structure are critical inputs that combine to allow Wabash to fulfill our purpose of ‘Changing How the World Reaches You.’”
A new walk-in van body will add to the company’s existing solutions in dry and refrigerated freight, parcel delivery, and curtainside. This announcement comes on the heels of Wabash’s recent launch of a new home delivery refrigerated truck body that features the company’s patented molded structural composite (MSC) technology.
“Advanced material technologies, lightweight designs, and electric vehicles are just a few of the areas we think customers can leverage to stay competitive in the rapidly changing transportation, logistics, and distribution space,” Page said. “Wabash is the visionary leader that can turn these breakthrough ideas into practical solutions.”
Wabash said it expects to begin production of the new walk-in cargo van by the end of 2022, after validation and testing with key pilot customers.
