A long-term deal recently finalized by General Motors Co. and Navistar will lead to the introduction of a new jointly-built Class 4-5 medium-duty conventional cab truck in 2018.
Specific terms of the agreement were not disclosed and additional details about the new trucks will be announced later, the OEMs said.
"Bringing medium-duty conventional cab trucks back into the portfolio strengthens [our] commitment to providing commercial customers with more choices and one-stop shopping for a versatile lineup of trucks, vans and crossovers," noted Ed Peper, U.S. VP for GM Fleet and Commercial Sales, in a statement.
Those future MD trucks will be jointly developed by marrying Navistar's chassis configurations and manufacturing capabilities with GM's commercial components and engines, the companies indicated, with the new trucks slated to state production in 2018 at Navistar's plant in Springfield, Ohio.
Navistar added that it plans to add 300 jobs and invest more than $12 million in facility upgrades to build these new medium-duty models.
"Our collaboration with GM is another example of our customer-centric, open integration approach—providing our customers with the best technologies available," emphasized Bill Kozek, president- truck and parts for Navistar, in a statement. "By working with an industry-leading company like GM, we'll be able to enhance our medium-duty product portfolio and leverage our scale and expertise in manufacturing medium-duty trucks."
