General Motors Co. and Navistar reached a long-term agreement to develop and assemble medium-duty, conventional-cab, Class 4/5 commercial vehicles, allowing Navistar to strengthen its product lineup and GM to return medium-duty trucks to its Chevrolet commercial truck portfolio. General Motors exited medium-duty truck marketing in 2009 amid recession and bankruptcy proceedings, leaving Ford the only automaker with a truck lineup ranging from pickups to medium duties.
New Chevy medium-duty trucks will be jointly developed using Navistar rolling chassis configurations and manufacturing capabilities, and GM commercial components and engines. The vehicles are slated for production in 2018 and will be manufactured at Navistar's facility in Springfield, OH. Navistar plans to add 300 jobs and invest more than $12 million in facility upgrades and equipment to produce the new vehicles.
"Bringing medium-duty conventional cab trucks back into the portfolio strengthens Chevrolet's commitment to providing commercial customers with more choices and one-stop shopping for a versatile lineup of trucks, vans and crossovers," said Ed Peper, U.S. vice president of GM Fleet and Commercial Sales.
Specific terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
