International, Ford in joint venture

Ford Motor Co. and Navistar International Corp. are forming a joint venture to build commercial trucks, as well as to boost use of International's diesel engines in Ford trucks. The yet-to-be named company will produce Class 6 and 7 medium-duty trucks that will be marketed separately under the Ford brand and Navistar's International brand. The vehicles, which will have a common chassis, will be sold in North America.

Navistar president, chairman and CEO John Horne said the common chassis will be the same as that used in the company's High Performance medium-duty truck. Navistar will provide product design and engineering, vehicle assembly operations and expanded diesel engine programs; the trucks will be built at Navistar's facility in Escobedo, Mexico.

The alliance will include a joint commercial truck service parts program and will look beyond medium trucks to explore opportunities in smaller commercial vehicles and diesel engine applications. Ford and Navistar will each own 50% of the company and will have equal representation on the board of directors.