IC Bus (originally IC Corporation) is an American bus manufacturer. Headquartered in Lisle, Illinois, IC is a wholly owned subsidiary of International Motors. Established in 2002 by Navistar through the reorganization of subsidiary manufacturer AmTran, IC currently produces and commercial-use buses for multiple applications.
The IC name stands for "Integrated Coach", referring to how the vehicles are nearly completely assembled under a single corporate structure. For all vehicles, the body and chassis are assembled within the same manufacturing facility; the latter is designed by parent company Navistar (prior to 2015, Navistar also supplied the engine). While using a chassis and hood shared with International-brand trucks, IC Bus vehicles have separate badging.
IC vehicles are produced at the Navistar Tulsa Bus Plant in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Prior to 2010, they were also assembled at the former AmTran/Ward facility in Conway, Arkansas.
To bring the company in line with the truck manufacturing division of Navistar (at the time, International Truck and Engine), AmTran changed its name to International Truck and Bus after 2000; its model lines adopted the International brand name and badging for the body in addition to the chassis. For 2003, International renamed its bus subsidiary a second time, to IC Corporation. After a minor revision, the International IC adopted the IC CE-Series name (to match the FE/RE-Series transit-style buses).
During the mid-2000s, IC began an overhaul of its product line. In 2004, the International 3300 was introduced as a cowled-chassis variant of the International 4000-series (DuraStar), becoming the first completely new cowled chassis from International since 1979. In 2005, IC produced its first small school bus, the 30-passenger BE200. In place of a cutaway van chassis, the BE adopted a lower-profile version of the 3300 chassis. Externally similar to the CE, the smaller BE was designed with a flat-floor interior.
To comply with 2007 EPA emissions standards, IC buses adopted MaxxForce diesel engines for 2007, including the MaxxForce 7 6.4L V8 and the MaxxForce DT 7.6L I6. For 2008, to improve engine ventilation, the FE was given a wider grille, with the BE and CE adopting the redesigned front bumper of the International DuraStar.
In April 2009, IC Corporation changed its name to IC Bus.
In a branding change, from 2010 onward, Navistar badged the International 3200 (the cutaway-cab version of the DuraStar) as an IC, regardless of body manufacturer. The IC "wing" logo was revised slightly in 2013 for 2014 production (with Navistar script added to the emblem and to the rear bumper).
In response to the failure of its EGR emissions strategy to meet emissions standards, Navistar began to phase out MaxxForce diesel engines in favor of Cummins-produced engines. In the CE, the Cummins ISB6.7 was introduced as an option for 2014 production, becoming the standard engine for 2015. In 2017, the MaxxForce DT was replaced by a Cummins L9 diesel for the RE series, with a Cummins B6.7 introduced during 2018 for the CE.
In the mid-2010s, IC centralized production around school buses. After 2014, the AE/AC, BE, and LC were discontinued. For 2018, the HC was replaced by the TC (as the MV replaced the DuraStar); within the shuttle bus segment, IC reverted to a role of chassis provider, no longer producing completely-bodied vehicles.
Alongside the TC medium-duty cutaway cab, IC Bus currently produces the CE and RE-series as school buses/MFSABs (activity buses); both model lines are also offered in commercial applications (derived from the school bus bodies).
In 2015, IC debuted its first alternative-fuel vehicle, showing a propane-powered CE-Series with a PSI 8.8L V8 engine. In 2016, the same engine was introduced in a gasoline-fueled configuration.
In July 2023, IC unveiled a third generation of the CE series for 2025 production. Using the updated International MV as a base chassis, the new CE added a taller, wider windshield to the body structure (rearward of the driver seat, much of the bodywork was carried over); the dashboard of the MV was integrated in its entirety. As of initial production, the third-generation CE is offered with diesel or electric powertrain options (the gasoline/LPG engine has not been made an option).
At the end of 2024 production, IC retired the long-running RE Series; coinciding with low overall market demand for rear-engine school buses, IC also cited upgrades in emissions standards for commercial vehicles. Produced with only incremental changes since 1996, the RE Series used the International 3000 chassis, the final variant of the International S-Series remaining in production (45 years after its release).
V8 (i.e. T444E, VT365, MF7) | BE200 | CE200 | RE200 (except MF7) | |
Inline-6 (i.e. DT466, MFDT) | CE300 | FE300 | RE300 |
HC Commercial | standard trim |
HC Bronze | shorter-length version |
HC Gold | deluxe trim |
HC Platinum | tour bus; full cab with co-pilot seat |
(International MV) | |Replacing the HC, the TC is bodied by second-party manufacturers and is derived from the International MV (third-generation International NGV) |}
Enova Systems entered into a long-term supply agreement with IC Bus that guarantees that Enova's proprietary Post Transmission Parallel Hybrid Electric drive system will be used in IC Bus' hybrid electric school buses. The hybrid school bus project features Enova's charge depleting (or "plug-in") or charge-sustaining systems. The drivetrain is powered by Valence Technology lithium ion phosphate battery modules. The braking system utilizes regenerative braking both as a means to reduce wear on the service brakes and to supply the batteries with extra power. As Enova went Bankrupt in 2014, IC Bus has discontinued the Hybrid option, once again leaving the CE with the Diesel Powertrain option.
Following the two prototypes, IC Bus abandoned its efforts in the motorcoach segment, concentrating its commercial buses on school bus derivatives and the HC-Series (a cutaway variant of the International DuraStar).
IC Corporation announced potential layoffs of up to 500 workers at the Conway plant (which employed approximately 1,000) in June 2007. Demand for school buses were affected by a price hike in the 2007 model year due to more stringent emissions regulations. School districts increased their purchases of the 2006 model year buses, which were $5,000 to $7,000 less than the 2007 model year buses, and the Conway plant was producing approximately 30 buses per day, down from 50 buses per day during the peak demand. Although the company later announced no layoffs would occur in 2007, the layoffs materialized on January 11, 2008, when IC Corporation announced a layoff of about 300 employees at the Conway, Arkansas Bus Plant. This was just under the maximum proportion of employees that could be laid off in Conway without the company violating the WARN Act, which requires employers to give 60 days notice of a mass layoff or plant closing. In addition to the layoffs, the company also announced a 50 percent reduction in bus production at the Conway plant. IC Corp. officials cited a lack of new orders as the reason for the layoffs. However, the company had recently announced increased production at the plant in Tulsa, Oklahoma. This stoked fears in Conway that the company was planning to shut down the plant in the near future and move all production to the newer, and non-union, Tulsa plant.
170 more workers were laid off at the Conway plant in March 2009. At the time, production had slowed to 16 buses per day, and following the layoffs, "cancellation of a huge order" resulted in production dropping to 8 buses per day. On November 5, 2009, IC Bus announced that its Conway plant would no longer assemble buses after January 18, 2010, projecting elimination of 477 jobs. The Conway facilities would serve as fabrication shops and manufacture parts, but would no longer produce complete buses. The company cited low demand by school districts and contractors during the recessionary economic climate in the United States.[1] "We have to consolidate our bus-assembly operations into one facility," Navistar spokesman Roy Wiley said. "Unfortunately for Conway, Tulsa is a much newer facility." Navistar sold off the Conway property in 2014.
On June 5, 2012, the Tulsa, Oklahoma IC Bus assembly plant produced its 100,000th vehicle. Workers at the Tulsa plant joined the United Auto Workers in 2013. The Conway property was acquired by DBG Canada Ltd., a manufacturer of parts for the heavy truck industry, in 2017, and DBG announced it would make Conway its United States headquarters.
|
|