General Motors has announced that it will sell its medium-duty truck business to Navistar, the parent company of International Truck and Engine Corp. GM’s medium-duty trucks ride on its GMT560 platform and are sold as the Chevrolet Kodiak and GMC TopKick.
According to Automotive News, GM sells about 30,000 to 40,000 units of its GMT560 trucks annually, with the entire market registering 180,000 sales.
Under the new deal, Navistar will be responsible for producing the trucks’ chassis and frames, as well as assembly. While not official, it is believed that production will shift from GM’s Flint, Michigan plant to International’s Springfield, Ohio plant.
The Navistar-produced trucks will still wear their GM nameplates.


12/20, 4:32 PM
posted by:
LP640
WTF is that ugly truck in the pic???? glad to see GM are going down.
12/20, 4:32 PM
posted by:
LP640
first and second comment
12/20, 4:33 PM
posted by:
LP640
first second and third comment
12/20, 4:34 PM
posted by:
CA36GTP
It’s a Chevy Kodiak, and it’s a medium-duty truck you moron, it’s not supposed to look pretty. It’s for true dirty work.
I guess the revealing of the ZR1 had to be balanced by this idiotic decision. Navistar can’t build ****, this will come back to bite GM in the ass since the quality will go down dramatically and they will still have Chevy and GMC badges on them.
12/20, 5:04 PM
posted by:
F3INT))AP3X
Just because it’s not big enough to tow your mom around doesn’t mean you have to bash on it LP
12/20, 5:06 PM
posted by:
jackjimturkey
LP You’re being stupid today!
12/20, 5:24 PM
posted by:
illwill
LP- GM is singular even though it has plural attributes. GO BACK TO GRAMMAR SCHOOL!
12/20, 5:57 PM
posted by:
jayjc08
Good one F3INT))AP3X…
I’ve always liked the F-series super duty trucks, it’s obviously “better looking”, however you may think it’s supposed to look. But damn, who has a need for such a huge truck with such a small bed, high clearance and all the jazz? I can understand contractors but…
12/20, 6:00 PM
posted by:
Commodore
Why? It seems kind of stupid considering how much money GM is making off these trucks. I am, they make practically all their money on pickups and SUVs, so these things probably bring in thousands.
12/20, 6:09 PM
posted by:
cfishgo
The benefit of these kinds of trucks is the towing capacity. The similar navistar tows 20tons while carrying 6 tons in the bed. Think of them as a mini-semi.. A fleet type vehicle. I’m pretty sure I saw a Bus tow truck that was one of those, and a local type racer who has one to pull his trailer of cars around.
12/20, 7:24 PM
posted by:
terminator
The Kodiak and F650s are badass trucks, I’d own one in a heartbeat if I had 100k to spend on a huge ass truck.
12/20, 7:42 PM
posted by:
autonut
Since it is a small segment it does not worth the bureaucracy cost associated with sale. GM is believes that they are in mass production and that the best I can think off. BTW it was the reason of their troubles, perceived ot otherwise on Wall Street, they need to sell a lot of units to justify the cost of sale. Perjaps if they would fire bureaucrats it would work as well. And frankly they are trying.
12/20, 8:17 PM
posted by:
carversation
Those things are huge
12/20, 9:01 PM
posted by:
CA36GTP
Ironhide was pretty badass.
12/20, 9:02 PM
posted by:
Bryce
For you folks who have never driven one, driving a Kodiak 4×4 makes you feel like the biggest badass in the world. I’d put it only past the H1’s in terms of pure kickass. If we had one in black with exhaust stacks, bullhorns, and a pickup bed, I’d be in heaven.
I wonder what this will do to the CAT engines and Duramax options.
Terminator, I can get you a Kodiak if you have about $50k to spend.
12/20, 9:17 PM
posted by:
///m
LOL biggest redneck mobiles ever, and I’ve been in an international, i hate these cars cause i know plenty of people that have them just because they’re hiding something haha
12/20, 10:50 PM
posted by:
Richard
It appears that several contributors to this forum who don’t realize that the pickup truck models of the Kodiak and Top Kick make up a very small fraction of these lines’ sales. These are the trucks that businesses rely on. They are used for ambulances, dump trucks, freight delivery, concrete mixers, etc. At one time or another, virtually everything that you own was on the back of a truck like this.
International is a major manufacturer if not the biggest manufacturer in this market segment. This deal makes it even larger. I wonder how long Navistar is obliged to sell these trucks under the Chevrolet/GMC banner. It would seem to be in the company’s best interest to transition GM’s old customers to the International brand.
12/20, 11:12 PM
posted by:
CA36GTP
Correct, Richard. The GM medium-duty trucks come in virtually all flavors, with many powertrain choices as well. Personally, I’d like to see that stay in the GM stable. They are doing a good job, no sense turning them over to a company known for quality issue in smaller (relatively, for the commercial market) vehicles.
12/21, 10:24 AM
posted by:
Get Real
If they got rid of the pickup sized bed and put in a REAL bed, sales would go up.
Huge truck to carry very little. They need a box bed.
12/21, 10:37 AM
posted by:
CA36GTP
The idea is these trucks are able to be combined with virtually any type of commercial unit you would need. Hydraulic dump beds, large trailers, net beds, etc.
A large traditional pick-up is more the high-trim Sierra’s territory.
12/21, 10:39 AM
posted by:
Bryce
Get Real, you are as dumb as ever. Do you realize that people pick on you because your name is so hypocritical?
12/21, 10:44 AM
posted by:
SwerveEarly
Put a plow attachment, tilt bed, and Banks kit on mine.
12/21, 11:48 AM
posted by:
CA36GTP
Damn straight they are badass. If I ever needed a truck, it’d be a black GMC Topkick styled exactly like Ironhide.
12/21, 3:58 PM
posted by:
///m
I’d rather have an International, those are the real kings of the road, but I’d never ever get one, not my cup of tea
12/21, 4:25 PM
posted by:
F451
I have a confession…I love the bloody Kodiak pickup version. They are awesome in real-life with a distinct presence about them called: SIZE! I love the International CXT too! This is a class of vehicle where you do not have to worry about door dings.
12/21, 4:45 PM
posted by:
jackjimturkey
F451: I like the CXT, too, though it’s pretty much useless for anyone who doesn’t build, tow or haul anything.
12/22, 12:58 AM
posted by:
C6Racer
CA36GTP, you stole the words right out of my mouth.
The pickup beds have no real use on a truck that size. It’s just for having the distinction of being the world’s biggest pickup. I’ve always thought they looked kinda funny. Maybe if they made the bed a bit taller it would look better. For some reason, Ironhide is the only truck where the pickup bed actually looked awesome.
I’ll take one with a goose neck hitch to give to my father. He regularly maxes out his ‘04 Sierra HD. I thought a 14,000 lb towing capacity would be enough for him but then one day I saw him with two pallets of sod in the bed and 4 more in his trailer. That load weighed well over 14k and the truck still manged seemingly without a sweat.
12/22, 1:02 PM
posted by:
injunraiv
Guys, that pickup bed isn’t even made by GM, it’s an aftermarket body from Monroe. This is no pickup.
This is serious business, though. GM has been divesting itself of a lot of businesses lately: GMAC to name a big one. Navistar is a dominant force in the MD market. Maybe it made sense to sell the biz to them. I just hope it doesn’t hurt too bad…
12/22, 7:07 PM
posted by:
1c3d0g
LP640: do you always have to act like a dick?
Ugh…I’m not so sure about this one GM, Navistar seems unable to produce quality powerplants if Ford’s PowerStroke engines are taken into consideration.
12/22, 8:33 PM
posted by:
Bryce
1c3d0g, from what I’ve heard of the suit, Navister isn’t backing warranty repairs because Ford modifies each engine.
12/26, 8:13 AM
posted by:
Get Real
Mr Bryce, if you need a toy truck this big that can’t carry more than 2 refrigerators then size envy is what I see.
Just look 90 degrees down from your computer screen.