In a move billed as potentially assisting Navistar with "life after Ford," the company is talking to GM about buying the General's medium-duty truck unit. Navistar already makes trucks and engines, and talks are only just beginning, but buying the GM unit would allow it to enlarge its market share and remove a competitor. Navistar, if you'll remember, is locked in a legal tussle with Ford to the tune of $2 billion. Navistar says that Ford is looking at introducing its own engines before 2012, in breach of contract; Ford says it's paying far too much for Navistar's 6-liter PowerStroke Super Duty engine issues.
Were GM to sell its medium-duty truck unit, assuming the price were right, GM would shed a non-core division, make a profit, and be able to focus on making cars. GM's medium-duty trucks are sold as the Chevy Kodiak, GM Topkick (aka "Ironhide"), and Isuzu T-Series, which together account for almost 12% of the medium-duty truck market. And apparently the medium-duties aren't the only ones on the block: GM is in talks to let Allison Transmissions go as well.
[Source: Automotive News, sub. req'd]
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