Navistar International says it has built and shipped about 17,000 vehicles to U.S. and Canadian customers in the past quarter, more than 15,000 of them with EPA-compliant 2010 diesels.

Officials also said that they have submitted certification for Navistar's upcoming MaxxForce 15, and plan to certify the MaxxForce 13 at 0.2 gram of nitrous oxide in the next few months, far ahead of when high volume production of this version would be required.

The MaxxForce 13 now emits up to 0.5 gram of NOx per horsepower-hour, and may do so because of previously earned credits. Many competitor engines are already at the 0.2-gram level while others use credits to run legally.

Executives announced the activity Wednesday during a media tour of Navistar's Huntsville engine plant in Alabama.

"Like our other manufacturing facilities, our Huntsville engine plant is operating in full production mode and shipping several hundred engines each week to our truck and bus assembly locations," said Dan Ustian, chairman, president and chief executive officer at Navistar. "To date, we have built and shipped more than 15,000 vehicles and we continue to build more than 100 EPA-2010 MaxxForce 13 engines every day."

The company said it has received more than 28,000 orders for EPA-2010 vehicles to date, not including long-term, multi-year contracts, and 10,000 orders are for the MaxxForce 13. More than 1,000 orders are for the new Class 4/5 medium duty International TerraStar, which went into production at the Garland, Tex., plant in October.

Navistar also showcased a new campaign focused on the combination of its International ProStar+ truck and MaxxForce 13 engine, launching this month.

"Shippers are demanding more payload capacity at a lower operating cost," said Michael Cerilli, vice president, North American truck marketing. "As a result, fleet owners need more flexibility in their fleet vehicles -- ideally, a lightweight truck that helps maximize their payloads while operating more efficiently."

When compared to similarly spec'd competitor trucks, the ProStar+ with a MaxxForce 13 is lighter by up to 1,000 lbs., giving customers substantially more capacity for increased payloads, he said.

The TerraStar is powered by the 6.4-liter MaxxForce 7 V-8, which delivers 300-horsepower and 660 pounds-feet of torque. It has a 28,000-psi (1,900-bar) high-pressure common-rail fuel system, dual sequential turbocharger system and a high-strength compacted graphite iron (CGI) block.

Its main competitor is Ford's F-450 and 550 models, which now take more than half the Class 4 and 5 market, executives had said previously. Dealers who are receiving the TerraStar can now embark on showing it to customers and convincing them of its superiority.