GM and Navistar to develop and make commercial trucks

(Reuters) -- General Motors said it will jointly develop and assemble medium-duty commercial vehicles with truck and engine maker Navistar International Corp.

GM said today the agreement will help boost its Chevrolet commercial truck business.

The move "strengthens Chevrolet's providing commercial customers with more choices and one-stop shopping for a versatile lineup of trucks, vans and crossovers," Ed Peper, GM's U.S. vice president of fleet and commercial sales, said in a statement.

The future products will be jointly developed using Navistar's rolling chassis configurations and manufacturing capabilities, and GM commercial components and engines.

Production will begin in 2018 at Navistar's plant in Springfield, Ohio.

Navistar said it would add 300 jobs and invest more than $12 million to upgrade the factory and equipment.

The companies did not disclose specific terms of the agreement.

Navistar is headed by former GM executive Troy Clarke, who spent 35 years at the automaker and finished his tenure there as president of GM North America. 

The deal with GM will help Navistar "enhance our medium-duty product portfolio and leverage our scale and expertise in manufacturing medium-duty trucks," Bill Kozek, president of trucks and parts at Navistar, said in the statement.

The suburban Chicago truck maker, which was once a leading maker of truck engines, continues to try to turn itself around after making a disastrous bet on a costly and unsuccessful proprietary smog-reduction system.

The emissions-related debacle sent Navistar's warranty expenses skyrocketing even as sales tumbled.

Earlier this month, Navistar posted its 12th consecutive quarterly loss, but executives said ongoing restructuring actions would help the company become profitable and have positive cash flow in 2016.