General Motors (GM) has signed an agreement with commercial vehicle maker Navistar for the assembly of medium-duty, class 4/5 trucks.
Production will begin in 2018 at Navistar’s facility in Springfield, Ohio. The truckmaker is investing $12m in upgrades to the plant and production equipment. As part of that upgrade, Navistar will re-commission its second line at the plant. The Springfield plant currently makes the DuraStar and WorkStar models.
"Our Springfield plant is an important part of our manufacturing footprint, and we've been preparing it for a higher volume concentration of light- and medium-duty products as part of our manufacturing strategy,” said Navistar operations president Persio Lisboa. “This is an important step towards our goal to drive automotive quality into the commercial vehicle industry."
GM said the move would expand its Chevrolet commercial truck portfolio, while allowing Navistar to simultaneously strengthen its product line-up.
GM North America manufacturing and labour relations vice-president Cathy Clegg said, "This partnership will provide our Wentzville, Missouri, assembly plant more flexibility to keep up with continued demand for mid-size trucks and full size vans."
Chevrolet currently makes Express and GMC Savana vans, which are full-length on-frame vehicles, and adapted into utility or service vehicles.
