Are General Motors’ discontinued medium-duty trucks hurting sales of its light-duty pickups? That’s what some GM dealers allege, according to a story from Automotive News.
Gordon Moore, vice president of McCormick Motors in Nappanee, Ind., said his commercial customers are reconsidering buying light-duty Chevrolet pickups because they would have to place a second order for medium-duty trucks somewhere else, while companies like Ford and Chrysler offer one-stop shopping.
GM ended production of the Chevrolet Kodiak and GMC TopKick medium-duty trucks in August last year after failing to sell the line of Class 5-7 work trucks to Isuzu or Navistar. The Kodiak and Top Kick had difficulty finding acceptance in the market, competing against Class 4/5 full-size pickup entries from Ford and Dodge and Class 5-7 conventional medium-duty trucks from companies like Hino and International.
Although GM has left the medium-duty segment, the move might not be permanent. In May, we reported that GM is studying re-entering the medium-duty business.
Automotive News says it’s heard from sources that GM could form a joint venture with companies such as Freightliner or Navistar’s International Truck division, or the company could buy an existing medium-duty truck manufacturer to quickly restart medium-duty sales.
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